Tottenham’s CL Qualification Leads to Half-Yearly Profits

English Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hotspur has returned to profit, thanks in no small part to its success in reaching the UEFA Champions League this season, a tournament in which they have reached the quarter finals, facing Spanish giant Real Madrid next week.

During the last six months of 2010 the club made pre-tax profits of £4.2m (US$6.74m), up from a loss of £8.3m ($13.3m) over the same period the previous year while turnover increased 49 per cent to £79m ($126.75m).

Tottenham’s operating expenses rose to £61.5m ($98.7m), up from £48.6m ($78m), due primarily to the costs associated with having a larger squad.

The club’s half-yearly report said this increase had been off-set by the ‘significant increase in revenue’ the club brought in from its campaign in Europe this season.

The report revealed that merchandise sales increased by 22 per cent and sponsorship and corporate hospitality revenue grew from £12.7m ($20.38m) to £16m ($25.7m).

Spurs returned to Europe’s elite competition after 48 years out of the reckoning in the 2010-11 season..