The extension of the St James' Park ground and the sale of some of its top wage earners lifted soccer group Newcastle back into the black at the interim stage to 31 January 2001. Turnover edged up by 15% to £32.2m and the Magpies made a pre-tax profit of £5,000 compared to a £1.3m loss last time. Sales were buoyed by increased ticket revenues, the result of an extra 15,000 seats at the ground and an uplift in branded product sales, which rose by 23% to £3.2m. Top earners such as Duncan Ferguson were sold to trim the wage bill, which had been 'in danger of spiralling out of control' according to chief executive David Stonehouse. Despite the stabilisation of wages, costs rose as the club incurred added depreciation charges related to the enlarged stadium. A recent Deloitte & Touche study of the football industry named Newcastle as spending the most on wages for the least return. Although Bobby Robson has settled the ship at St James' after the turbulent Ruud Gullit era, significant expenditure will be required if the club is to push for honours. Notoriously indifferent to football stocks, the City was unmoved by these results and the shares were unchanged at 35p. Earnings per share was 3.4p (3p) and the interim dividend was 1.03p (0.6p).