Chelsea have announced a profit of £32.5million in the Premier League club’s latest set of financial results.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic saw overall turnover for the group fall from £446.7m to £407.4m for the year ended June 30 2020.
Nevertheless, qualification for the Champions League and surplus made “on a number of player sales” helped the west London club post a substantial profit.
The club also continues “to comply with UEFA’s break-even criteria under the Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations”.
Broadcasting and matchday revenues decreased by £17.6m and £12.2m respectively, which was primarily as a result of the suspension of the season from March 2020.
Reduced matchday costs because of games being postponed helped partially offset the losses from the pandemic.
The Stamford Bridge club decided against using the Government’s coronavirus job retention furlough scheme, continuing to pay wages of full-time and temporary staff who were not required to work throughout the 2020 financial year.
Chelsea played their final four home Premier League games of the interrupted domestic campaign and also the conclusion of both the FA Cup and Champions League fixtures behind closed doors, the majority of which fell into the 2021 financial year.
Commercial revenue was also down by £9.5m, with non-match day activities in and around Stamford Bridge also closed because of the pandemic.
Chelsea also invested £93.7m in the squad during the 2020 financial year, which included existing player contract renegotiations.
However, the big-money summer signings of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy are not covered in the 2020 results as they all went through after June 30.
Blues chairman Bruce Buck said on the club website: “In common with many, many businesses across the globe, the pandemic has had a significant impact on Chelsea’s income.
“But it is a sign of the strength and stability of our financial operation that the company was still able to post a profit in the past financial year.
“This was done while continuing to invest in our playing staff and indeed had normal football not halted in March, projections show a record profit and record turnover would have been achieved. That would have represented an increase in revenue for a fifth year in succession.
“Despite the impact of COVID, the revenue streams remained strong, our team is developing on the pitch and the club is in a good position to continue to grow when football is able to operate as it did previously, a time we are all looking forward to.”
