London, April 19 (IANS): The wages bill for the English Premier League (EPL) has reached a record $2.84 billion, the business advisors Deloitte has revealed.
Experts at the firm say that for the first time since 1999, the 20 Premier League clubs have recorded a second consecutive year of profits, generating approximately 120 million pounds ($170 million)in the 2014/15 season, reports Xinhua.
It was the second highest aggregate pre-tax profit for Premiership clubs until now, they added.
Of the 20 clubs in the EPL, 17 recorded an operating profit in 2014/15. Only Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and newly relegated Aston Villa failed to record a profit in the 2014/15 season.
The financial health of EPL clubs led to record summer 2015 transfer spending of 1.24 billion U.S. dollars.
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, commented: "The perennial problem for Premier League clubs was to convert impressive revenue growth into profitability. We saw this problem solved with record breaking results last year.
"The new challenge was to sustain this financial success, and the Premier League clubs have accomplished this in impressive style in the latest results," he said.
"With further significant revenue increases already guaranteed for the next broadcast cycle, starting in 2016/17, there is every reason to be confident of the Premier League clubs' profitability being here to stay."
Deloitte's Sports Business Group also revealed that EPL clubs' wage costs rose by 6 percent in 2014/15, to a total of two billion pounds, a new record. This record pay bill increased the wages/revenue ratio to 60 percent.
Adam Bull, senior consultant in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: "Premier League clubs now enjoy a significant revenue advantage over all but a handful of the biggest clubs from elsewhere in Europe."
"This has earned the Premier League clubs a huge and self-perpetuating advantage over continental peers in terms of attracting playing talent," he said.
Bull added: "The security of world leading revenues, now augmented with sustained profitability, aided by cost control measures in place for both domestic and European competitions, makes clubs playing in the Premier League, and those with aspirations to get there, particularly attractive to investors from around the globe."