Manchester United plc Q3 FY2020 earnings call

• Expressing sympathy for those affected by COVID-19 and support for communities, including staff packaging food and cooking meals for NHS. - Matches postponed since mid-March, Old Trafford facilities closed. Men's first team began phased training with medical protocols. Anticipated domestic games to restart in June and Europa League culmination in August. - Club's resilience through past crises, employees transitioned to remote work. Digital media team created content during isolation. Strong fan engagement with Manchester United Club app. Support from partners, and operational innovations across business lines.

Total revenues for the third quarter were £123.7 million, down £28.4 million versus prior year due to COVID-19 disruption impact on broadcast and matchday revenues. Commercial revenues grew driven by sponsorship. Adjusted EBITDA of £27.9 million was down £13.3 million versus the prior year. Revenue reduction was partially offset by lower player wages due to non-participation in the Champions League. Net finance costs for the third quarter were £25.3 million compared to £3.1 million in the prior year, solely due to foreign exchange movements on U.S. dollar debt.

• Withdrew previous full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance ranges. - Third quarter impacted by COVID-19. Fourth quarter: commercial sponsorship revenues normal, retail impacted by Megastore closure, broadcast revenues dependent on match timing and rebate finalization, matchday revenues significantly impacted by Old Trafford closure to fans. - No summer tour this year. Full-year committed player CapEx expected at approx £190 million with amortization costs of £130 million.

• COVID-19 disruption impact on broadcast, matchday revenues and financial results. - Uncertainty regarding duration of pandemic and its long-term economic impact. - Uncertainties in player training and match restart procedures, including potential issues with testing resources.

Q: Cliff, can you just repeat the impact on the revenues for the third quarter? And any broader or greater context that you can give us to kind of help frame out what a potential rebate scenario would might look like with the broadcast partners?

A: Yes, so it’s £23 million, we've estimated the impact based on at least to-date. £15 million of that is our estimates for the impact of the rebate over the 29 games played to-date. The rest includes missed revenue from canceled matches and closure of facilities. In terms of the rebate, it's the best estimates at this stage based on discussions between the Premier League and broadcasters and is not final.

Q: I wanted to ask you a question, and I think a lot of us are trying to wrap our heads around just how leagues and teams are getting back on the field. And I want to see if you could walk us through some of the primary operational procedures that you're employing to key players and other MANU personnel, say, during training and that you'll see once the season resumes. And if you could also maybe talk about some of the greatest challenges in this area, whether it's the availability of resources, such as test kits or other issues?

A: I'll take a stab on answering that question. This is all being done centrally through the Premier League together with a lot of advice through the government and other groups. The protocol approved in the last Premier League meeting allowed players to go back to training yesterday which is very detailed including pre-testing and regular testing, social distancing, etc. The biggest resource question is around testing. But there are relatively large number of test kits available for our players and staffs to ensure that the protocols are met, and I don't think this will be one of the issues that stop us going back