Celtic Announce Significant Drop in Profits, Reduce Bank Debt

Celtic Football Club interim results have revealed that Profits have fallen by £7m but their debt with the bank has been cut by £2m.

Turnover at the Parkhead club increased by almost £1m to £29.27m, here according to the interim results for the second half of last year that were released on Monday.

Profit before tax at Celtic was £177, medicine 000 for the period, capsule compared to a profit of £7.05m for six months to December 31, 2010.

At the end of 2010 the club’s bank debt was just over £9m, which was reduced to just over £7m, according to the unaudited accounts. Profit on selling players fell around £10m to £3.1m from £13.2m, while investment in the playing squad fell nearly £5m to £4.4m.

Ian Bankier, Celtic chairman, states in the accounts that the turnover increase made up for falls in other areas.

He said: “This increase offset reduced revenues from pre-season tours and merchandising.

“Both are areas where the marketplace domestically and internationally remains very challenging. Like many with a presence in the high street, we continue to see difficult conditions driven by a squeeze on household incomes.”

Mr Bankier, who took over the role from former MP John Reid in October, said the bank debt “remains manageable, and well within the club’s facilities”.

Although squad investment had fallen on the previous year, Mr Bankier stated that the board were confident the “the strength and depth of the player pool now available to the football manager is better than it has been for several seasons”.

He added: “This has been a conscious decision that the financial discipline of the past has allowed us to take. As a result, we have been able to enjoy the virtuous trilogy of being able to keep our best players, build and develop significant value in our player pool, and see improvements in football performance.”

The chairman also paid tribute to manager Neil Lennon in the results after Celtic started the season on a poor run of form that saw them 15 points behind rivals Rangers, before regaining top spot in the Scottish Premier League.

by Ismail Uddin