Falkirk announce £172k profit after player sales

Falkirk have announced a profit of £172,000 for the year ending May 2012 after bringing in nearly £700,000 through player sales.

After posting a £410,000 loss the previous year, the Bairns’ bank balance was boosted by Ryan Flynn’s switch to Sheffield United and the transfers of Scott Arfield, Murray Wallace and Kallum Higginbotham to Huddersfield for a total of £668,488.

Despite a memorable run to the League Cup semi-finals, where they were beaten by Celtic last January, and their Ramsdens Cup triumph, the club’s income (excluding player sales) plummeted by over £500,000 to £1.9 million. In the chairman’s report, Martin Ritchie said: “I am pleased to report that in the year ending 31 May 2012 your company returned to profitability with a profit of £172,204.

“This was a direct result of our long-term strategy of investing in our football academy. It may be too early to be confident that this strategy can deliver profits every year but our success in developing and selling on players, coupled with control of expenditure and the development of new revenue earning initiatives, can give us some scope for optimism. Looking to the future, we must establish a sustainable business model that does not 
depend on loans and investment from our shareholders and supporters.”