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Aston Villa have posted a £51.8 million loss in their latest accounts for 2012-13 – but insist they can now “close a chapter” on their period of financial pain.

Owner Randy Lerner, through the club’s parent company, has waived £90.1 million of loans, converting them to equity in December 2013.

The accounts for the year ending May 31, 2013 show that Villa have reduced their operating losses by £9.5 million to £42.6 million.

But the loss after tax for the financial year increased by £34.1m to £51.8m because, because unlike the year before they did not generate a substantial figure in selling players and because there was a significant waiver of interest in the previous accounts.

Although the 2012-13 accounts still show large losses, it is believed the next set of accounts for 2013-14 will show that the club is self sufficient.

Turnover for the year was up £3,3 million to £83.7 million, with the club citing their improved Premier League position, higher average league attendance and their progress to the Capital One Cup semi-final last season.

There was a £6.2 million reduction of operating expenses before exceptional items, which was achieved by reducing the wagebill of the playing squad and the £3.1 million amortisations of player’s registrations.

In an official statement, Villa say they have vastly reduced the club’s debt load and accelerated the process towards long-term stability and financial self-sufficiency.

Robin Russell, Chief Financial Officer, said: “The 2012-13 accounts effectively close a chapter on a period of heavy losses. As we near the end of the 2013-14 season, the Club is financially self-sufficient, compliant with both UEFA’s and the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play requirements and we look forward to a period of continued growth and progress on and off the pitch.”

Villa revealed that exceptional charges increased by £2.4million to £8.3 million and included the accelerated amortisation of certain players’ registrations and their employment costs. This refers to the depreciation in players’ values as their contracts tick down.

The club say the accounts now more accurately reflect the value of the squad utilised by the manager.

As the squad was being rebuilt, there was no repeat of 2011-12’s record-breaking profit on disposal of player’s registrations (£0.3m loss in 2012-13 as opposed to £26.9m profit in 2011-12), meaning Villa did not generate large sums from incoming transfer fees as they previously did from the sales of Stewart Downing and Ashley Young.

There was also no repeat of the one-off impact in 2011-12 of the waiver of accumulated interest of £20.3m by the owner on loans made to the club. The group continues to benefit from this largesse to the tune of £6.1 million annually.