Wolves boosted by £9.1m Premier League profit

Wolves today offered a clear financial reminder of the price of Premier League status after confirming a £9.1m profit on their first season back in the top flight.

The news comes as the team are once again locked in a tooth-and-nail battle to stay in the most lucrative domestic division in world football.

The headline detail from the annual accounts covering the 2009-2010 campaign spell out an impressive balance between major investment in the team to meet the Premier League challenge and the rising rewards of staying there.

Wolves' £9.1m profit contrasts sharply with the £4.9m loss in the previous year during which the club was striving to win promotion from the Championship.

But the stand-out figure — one which underlines the significance of winning this season's survival fight — is the turnover. Wolves enjoyed a £60.6m turnover last season which obliterates the £18.3m of their last Championship campaign.

This means that despite breaking the club transfer record to sign £6.5m Kevin Doyle as well as recruiting Nenad Milijas, Ronald Zubar and loanee Michael Mancienne, and facing a hefty rise in the wage bill, Wolves were still able to post the profit after finishing 15th.

The Premier League's core commercial deals, a bump in the sponsorship agreement with sportingbet.com and higher ticket revenue from an average attendance which rose to 28,366 from 24,153 were at the heart of the big increase in earnings.

It also enabled Wolves to absorb the cost of securing key young players, including Wayne Hennessey, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Kevin Foley, on longer term deals.

With the club showing a "very strong" balance sheet with net assets at £70.5m, the accounts would appear to put the club in robust shape as it prepares to launch 'Operation Molineux,' the stadium's ambitious rebuild.

The importance of staying in the Premier League has never been more vividly outlined although chief executive Jez Moxey insists the steady policies of this era under the '3Ms' will remain.

"Our results reflect the successful balance the club struck between sound financial management and continuing investment in players and off the pitch infrastructure," said Moxey.

"We will not be irresponsible and fall into the dangerous trap of over-stretching the club."