Man Utd Q1 core earnings fall 25 percent as matchday income shrinks

REUTERS - English soccer club Manchester United posted a 25 percent fall in quarterly core earnings as its absence from the lucrative Champions League competition and fewer home games at the start of the season hit its matchday income.

United, whose players include Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, are currently sixth in the 20-team English Premier League.

The club's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the three months to September 30 fell to 31.2 million pounds ($38.9 million) from a record 41.6 million pounds a year earlier, partly reflecting the failure to qualify for this season's Champions League.

The team played 3 fewer home games at Old Trafford in the period compared to a year earlier, partly down to the scheduling of Premier League fixtures.

Revenue came in at 120.2 million pounds falling from 123.6 million pounds in the first quarter of 2016.

The club, controlled by the American Glazer family, maintained its revenue and profit forecasts for the 2016-17 year as a whole. ($1 = 0.8012 pounds)

(Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Keith Weir)