Chelsea report £49.4m losses for 2013

Chelsea made a £49.4million ($81.8m, 59.9m euro) loss in the last financial year, the English Premier League club announced on Wednesday. Turnover for the year ending June 30, 2013 was a record £255.8m ($424m, 308m euro), but the club's early Champions League exit contributed to the loss in income. Jose Mourinho's side will still however satisfy UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations as the two-year monitoring period includes the £1.4million ($2.3m, 1.6m euro) profit made in the 2011/12 season. The club also saw a 19 per cent rise in commercial income from £67m ($111m, 80m euro) to £79.6m ($132m, 95.8m euro) as they won the Europa League. Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said: "For Chelsea FC to achieve a record level of turnover despite our first group-stage elimination from the Champions League shows we have structured our business and are growing in the correct way for long-term stability. "Our philosophy is we build upon success on the pitch and although in these financial results we haven't repeated the sizeable profits made the previous year from player transfers, we believe the age profile of the existing squad means we will benefit from that investment for many years to come. "A successful team builds awareness around the world and our increased commercial revenues in 2012/13 and new or extended partnership deals demonstrate we are working hard to capitalise on that." Chairman Bruce Buck added: "A long-term objective was financial sustainability, and the subsequent implementation of Financial Fair Play by UEFA and by the Premier League has brought that to the top of the agenda for football clubs. "We are pleased therefore that we will meet the stipulations set down by UEFA in their first assessment period, and by our own analysis we are progressing from a commercial viewpoint as well as continuing to add trophies to our collection, which we never lose sight of as our most important goal." The next financial year's results will be boosted by, amongst other things, a new 10-year kit deal with Adidas. The deal with the sportswear manufacturer is worth a reported £300m ($497m, 361m euro) and, while announced in June, will be recorded from the 2013/14 accounts. Chelsea are third in the Premier League, two points behind leaders Arsenal. Source:AFP