Celtic prepare £13m ‘buffer’ as Tierney proceeds offset Covid hit 

By David Owen

October 27 – Celtic, the perennial Scottish champions who look like facing a run for their money this season from fierce local rivals Rangers, managed to stay narrowly in the black last year, in spite of the impact of Covid-19.

The Glasgow club posted a pre-tax profit of just £101,000, down from £11.3 million a year earlier.

Revenue for the year to end-June fell by almost 16% from £83.4 million to £70.2 million. More than half of the latest figure – £35.8 million – continued to come from football and stadium operations – a far higher proportion than the top English clubs.

Multimedia/commercial chipped in with £19.4 million and merchandising £15 million.

Ian Bankier, chairman, described the result as “satisfactory in the circumstances at hand”. He said an immediate priority was “to have fans return to watching football in our stadium in a safe manner”.

Bankier also revealed that Celtic had increased its revolving credit facility from £2 million to £13 million, “to provide a further buffer should it ever be required”.

With operating expenses still exceeding £80 million, the loss from trading jumped from £3.5 million to £10.3 million. This, along with amortisation costs, was more than offset by a bumper £24.2 million profit on player sales – the legacy, presumably, of star full-back Kieran Tierney’s 2019 transfer to Arsenal.

Holders of the club’s convertible cumulative preference shares were paid a dividend totalling £510,000 in late August.

Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1711620249labto1711620249ofdlr1711620249owedi1711620249sni@n1711620249ewo.d1711620249ivad1711620249