Newcastle United can spend on playing squad says managing director Lee Charnley

Newcastle United managing director Lee Charnley has insisted that the club are able to invest in the playing squad moving forward after the club revealed positive financial results.

In figures released on their official website on Monday morning (March 30) that accounted for the financial year up until the end of June 2014, Newcastle confirmed that they had made a record profit of £18.7m after tax with an operating profit of £4.7m.

Turnover, meanwhile, rose from £95.9m to £129.7m and there was also a sizeable £8.5m commercial boost. The level of debt, most of which comes from money loaned by owner Mike Ashley, was not affected.

"I am pleased to report a positive set of results which confirms the healthy financial position the Club now finds itself in and is a reflection of the prudent and measured manner in which we operate," Charnley said.

"The Club benefits from a supportive owner and is financially stable. This gives us a strong platform from which to grow, both on and off the pitch, a result of which means, as we move forward, we are able to net spend on the playing squad and invest in other areas of the business."

Many Newcastle supporters have expressed anger at how the club has been run during Ashley's tenure, with a perceived lack of ambition and spending in the transfer market one of the key gripes.

The club sold influential midfielder Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £19m in January 2014 during the ill-fated reign of director of football Joe Kinnear but failed to adequately replace him as they went through two full windows without making a permanent addition.

With no chance of competing for a place in Europe and a 10-point buffer to the relegation zone, Newcastle's season has rather petered out into mediocrity in recent weeks.

The need to sign considerable reinforcements has been made obvious, however, as caretaker manager John Carver, who took over from the unpopular Alan Pardew in January following his defection to Crystal Palace, has been forced to contend with a raft of injury problems that have contributed to a poor run of four defeats from five Premier League matches.