Celtic have released their Interim financial results with the club revealing an increase in revenue t0 £85.2m – and have apologised for not adding to the playing squad in January.
The profit before finance income & expense and taxation amounted to £28.5m and was released on Friday afternoon.
Pre-emptying criticism from fans who are frustrated at the lack of new arrivals in the January transfer window, a statement from chairman Peter Lawwell read:
“The Board’s commitment is to strengthen and improve the playing squad in every transfer window and although resources were available, we were unable to further add to the squad due to the unavailability of identified targets.
“This was disappointing to us all, and never the intention. The January transfer window is notoriously difficult as clubs are very reluctant to let their best players go at such a crucial time of the season just as we are. Indeed, we resisted strong interest in our players from other clubs.
“It is notable that transfer activity in England was the lowest it has been for over ten years, excluding the impact of Covid-19. A number of reasons have been cited for this including the absence of suitable players and new UEFA regulations which impose spending caps.”
The figures released affirm the robust nature of Celtic’s finances with £67m banked.
“The results for the six months ended 31 December 2023 show revenues of £85.2m (2022: £76.5m) and a profit from trading, representing the profit excluding other income and player-related gains and charges, amounting to £32.0m (2022: profit of £28.1m). The profit before finance income & expense and taxation amounted to £28.5m (2022: £33.8m),” read the club’s statement.
“We benefited from Champions League qualification in both 2022 and 2023 and increased underlying revenue by £8.7m to £85.2m in the first half of 2023 relative to the same period last year.
“The key factors in this were higher UEFA distributions this year alongside a general incremental upturn in trading across almost all revenue streams. A significant portion of this revenue increase was re-invested into football wages and salaries resulting in the profit from trading of £32.0m noted above.
“Amortisation charges were broadly in line with the same period last year and gains from player trading amounted to £2.6m for the six months to 31 December 2023 (2022: £1.8m). These principally related to the disposal of Carl Starfelt and several contingent fees that crystalised in the period.”
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