London: English Premier League strugglers Queens Park Rangers on Monday announced a reduced loss of £9.8 million (Dh55.40 million) for the year ending May 2014, when they won promotion back to the top flight.
In addition, QPR said £60 million in loans from shareholders had been written off, and the new figures come as something of a boost with the club under threat of a significant fine from the Football League for breaching their Financial Fair Play regulations as discussions continue between the parties.
The figures represent a huge reduction from the £65.4 million deficit that was reported in May 2013, with the west London club saying they were able to reduce expenditure by £22 million during a one-season stay in the second-tier Championship.
“Expenditure was reduced by £22 million, mainly driven by lower player costs, and this trend will continue in future years as the club will continue to bring losses down,” read a statement on the club’s website.
“In addition, the club’s shareholders reiterated their long-term support for the club by strengthening the club’s balance sheet by writing off £60 million of shareholder loans.
“The club’s shareholders and directors are of the opinion that the club is moving in the right direction and on track with its mid-term and long-term business plans.
“The impact of relegation and promotion inevitably has a material impact on the short-term financial results of clubs but the shareholders are comfortable that the medium-term outlook is positive, with Premier League revenues growing and the club’s costs continuing to fall.”
Under new Football League rules, Championship clubs were permitted losses of only £8 million, with £5 million funded by shareholder investment in 2013-14.
Teams promoted back to the Premier League who exceeded those losses are set to be subjected to a fine and those still in the Championship face a points deduction.
However, the likely fine faced by QPR could now be considerably lower than initially feared.