Manchester United reports first quarter operating profit

Manchester United made a profit from continuing operations of 20.5 million pounds ($32.6 million) in the three months to end-September, the English Premier League soccer club said on Wednesday.

United, English champions a record 19 times, said its debt had fallen to 360 million pounds, down 17 percent from a year ago, following a flotation on the New York Stock Exchange in August. ($1 = 0.6293 British pounds) (Writing by Keith Weir, 44 20 7542 8022)