Bonser hails Saddlers fans after £19k profit
Walsall today announced a trading profit of £19,000 – while the club's debt has also been slashed.
The Saddlers posted the after-tax profit for the financial year ending May 31, a decrease of £4,000 on the previous year. However, the club were also able to reduce their net debt considerably, down £377,000 to £2.3 million, something chairman Jeff Bonser claims makes the overall profit "more significant".
At the same time, turnover jumped from £4.76m to £5.3m, due in part to a significant rise in turnover at the turnstiles, with the club claiming £1.15m in gate receipts compared to £885,000 a year ago.
And in his account statement, Bonser hailed fans for their support.
He said: "I would once again like to say a big thank you to our supporters for their continued loyalty and commitment to the club, and to assure them that all our efforts and hard work are focused on continuing to give them a team and club to be proud of."
Bonser also acknowledged the "steady progress" made on the pitch last season, expressed pride in the Saddlers winning last season's Respect and Fair Play Award in League One and hailed the "impressive rise" of youth team products Amadou Bakayoko, Liam Kinsella and Rico Henry.
The accounts show an increase in the overall staffing bill of £292,000 to £2.8m, with the amount of playing and coaching staff increasing by six to 77 and overall staff by 13 to 126.
There was also an increase in football and commercial turnover from £3.88m to £4.15m, no doubt helped in part by the sale of Jamie Paterson to Nottingham Forest and the money received at tribunal for Will Grigg following his move to Brentford.
The club have also benefited by the agreement of new stand, shirt and academy sponsorship deals with HomeServe.
