Hearts announce profit as turnover rises by over 20%
- Published
A run to the Scottish Cup final helped boost Hearts' revenues
Hearts have announced a profit of £2.9m in their annual results, with turnover rising by over 20%.
Staff costs rose by £2.2m to £8.2m, but the Tynecastle club brought in an extra £2.9m in income, helped by a rise in gate receipts and commercial activity.
However, the club received 'exceptional donations' totalling £3.25m.
"We have once again achieved our major objective which was to grow our revenues profitably," said owner Ann Budge.
"It was another challenging year both on and off the pitch, however, we continued to focus on our core values and have delivered a very positive financial performance."
The club cited a "disappointing" performance in the Scottish Premiership as one of the challenges, as they finished sixth for the second successive season.
However runs to the semi-final of the League Cup, and the final of the Scottish Cup boosted revenues as operating profit totalled £1.6m.
Fans group Foundation of Hearts continued to support the club as investment in the redevelopment of Tynecastle continued.
A total of £600,000 was brought in through player sales, in particular the transfer of Kyle Lafferty to Rangers, while £1m of the donations was explicitly for player costs.
Budge added: "We remain focussed on achieving our long-term objective of building a financially stable operation, with the infrastructure, vision and people in place, to ensure the ongoing successful development of our club.
"Once again, we have recorded a strong financial performance, while continuing to invest for the future, both on and off the pitch."