Wolves recorded a loss of slightly more than £67 million for the 2022/23 financial year but are set to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations.
After incurring a £46.1 million loss in 2021/22, Wolves faced another challenging year, resulting in a total loss of £67,186,000 for the year ending May 2023.
This significant loss for 2022-23 was anticipated, with initial estimates ranging between £60 million and £80 million following Wolves’ substantial spending on player acquisitions in the summer of 2022, followed by further investments in January 2023 to avoid relegation.
Increased expenditures on transfers and wages included the £43 million permanent transfer of Matheus Cunha from Atletico Madrid, which was finalised in February the previous year, despite his official loan-to-buy move scheduled for the summer.
Moreover, signings such as Nathan Collins, Hwang Hee-chan, Matheus Nunes, Goncalo Guedes, Sasa Kalajdzic, Diego Costa, Mario Lemina, Craig Dawson, Pablo Sarabia, Dan Bentley, and Joao Gomes led to Wolves incurring a net player trading loss of £38.6 million.
However, this loss would have been more severe if the club had not achieved a healthy profit on the sales of Morgan Gibbs-White, Leander Dendoncker, Ruben Vinagre, Connor Ronan, Sangbin Jeong, and Leo Campana, resulting in £43.9 million in profit, compared to £15 million the previous year.
Furthermore, additional funds were received from the transfers of Diogo Jota, Rafa Mir, and Rui Patricio. It is reported that the club has now received the full £45 million plus £5 million in add-ons from Liverpool for Jota.
Wolves’ revenue for the year saw a slight rise from £165.5 million to £168.6 million ‘due to the increase in the underlying Premier League broadcasting rights’, despite missing out on additional earnings based on their final Premier League position and the number of televised matches they featured in.
In the previous season, Wolves finished 13th, compared to 10th the season before, and considering around £2.8 million is paid out for each position gained in the league, this would have impacted Wolves’ financial prospects.
What else do we know?
In 2022-23, Wolves owners Fosun loaned the club an additional £64 million, which is expected to be converted into equity in the coming weeks.
This £64 million is not included in PSR calculations because PSR aims to prevent owners from financially supporting clubs.
Fosun has also given another loan of £18 million in the current financial year.
Where does that leave us in the Summer?
It’s difficult to know because these accounts are for a year ending nearly 12 months ago. However all indications are that the forecast puts Wolves in a better position financially this year but will still need to be mindful of Profit and Sustainability Rules.