BOLTON Wanderers has increased its turnover this year following a momentous season on the pitch.

The club's owner Burnden Leisure saw turnover rise by three percent from £53.1 million in 2005 to £54.8 million.

But profits for 12 months to July of this year, slumped from £3.7 million in 2005 to just £300,000 this year.

The company said that increased player trading costs of £1.9 million contributed to the fall.

Burnden Leisure revealed its finances in its annual report and accounts published yesterday.

Turnover from football activities increased by three per cent to 45.9 million. Despite average attendances falling from 26,000 to 25,200, gate receipts grew by 8 per cent to £9.8 million, mainly due to increased revenue from UEFA Cup and domestic cup matches.

Merchandising and licensing sales grew by two per cent to £1.7 million, in what the company described as "a very difficult trading year," but other commercial activities performed well.

Corporate hospitality sales were up by 9 per cent to £2.5 million, while sponsorship and advertising income rose by 13 per cent to £3.3 million.

Wanderers finished in eighth place last season, two places lower than last year. That caused a one per cent drop in broadcasting income at £26.6 million, but this was again mitigated by additional television cash from FA and UEFA Cup matches.

Other football income also increased significantly by 21 per cent to £2.1 million, driven by high-profile events such as Coldplay concerts, and evening with Donny Osmond and the Player of the Year events.

Burnden Leisure chairman Phil Gartside said: "This has been a memorable year for the club, reaching the last 32 of the UEFA Cup, and finishing a very commendable eighth in the league.

"From a business perspective, the performance was very encouraging, and we aim to leverage our on-the-field achievements to enable further investment for development."

Chief executive Allan Duckworth said: "We're very pleased with the results, but we are also realistic. It is very important to the group that we maximise revenue streams outside football to secure further investment in playing staff. These results show that we are going in the right direction."

Mr Duckworth said that commercial partnerships with Reebok, which has taken out new leases to now occupy all three floors of the North Stand of the stadium, and DeVere Whites, which also saw hotel sales rise by three per cent, showed that the company was continuing to build for the future.

"We have invested in our facilities at the Reebok Stadium and at Euxton, and we transformed our superstore to create a better environment for shoppers."

He added that emerging commercial links with Chinese Superleague side Wuhan FC, as well as developing a new sponsorship strategy and the club's new Acadeny, would hopefully pay dividends in the longer term.