Celtic’s results off the pitch in 2023/24 saw their pre-tax profit further improving from £18m to £46m, a record for Scottish clubs. Revenue rose £19m (15%) from £125m to £144m, another all-time high for Scotland, while profit from player sales shot up from £7m to £31m.
The significant increase in Celtic’s revenue was was driven
by the successful Champions League campaign, which led to uplifts in match day,
up £10.7m (21%) from £49.6m to £60.3m, and broadcasting, up £8.8m (24%) from
£36.4m to £45.2m. Both revenue streams established new club records.
Celtic have pretty much been in a class of their own in
Scotland when it comes to generating money from player trading, as seen by
looking at the latest available accounts, where the next highest profit was
only £5.6m at Rangers, followed by £1.3m at Aberdeen.
Celtic have posted profits in nine of the last ten years,
the one exception being the COVID-impacted loss in 2020/21. As a result, they
have generated an impressive £135m profit before tax over the last decade,
including £104m in the last three years alone.
Nevertheless, Celtic’s £144m was only £6m higher than the £138m earned
by Sheffield United, the club that finished last in the Premier League in
2023/24.
Player trading has clearly made a big difference to Celtic,
especially in their eternal battle against Rangers, as they have made a
striking £164m in the last ten years. This is well over £100m more than the
£47m made by Rangers (2024/25 still to come, but there were no major sales).
Celtic earned €46.2m (£39m) TV money from the Champions
League in 2024/25, which was over twice as much as the €20.0m (£17m) that
Rangers got from the Europa League, and around eight times as much as the €5.8m
(£5m) Hearts earned in the Conference League.
The difference to Celtic’s revenue in the years when they
are playing in the Champions League is evident, so their failure to get past
Kairat Almaty this season will hit them hard.
Celtic’s average attendance in 2024/25 slightly decreased
from 58,867 to 58,809, though this was still around 11,000 more than Rangers
47,954, followed by Hearts 18,634, Aberdeen 17,777 and Hibernian 17,157.
Celtic’s wage bill rose £9.2m (14%) from £65.6m to £74.8m,
by far the highest in the history of the club, driven by investment in the
first team, an increase in performance-related bonuses and inflation across the
business. This means that wages have grown by £16m (27%) in the last three
years.
The club has invested £18.9m in infrastructure in the last
two years, which was around the same amount as the previous ten years put
together.
As a result of a fairly disastrous transfer window, Celtic’s
start to the season has been poor by their standards, including the humiliating
defeat against Kairat Almaty that led to Champions League elimination. Although it’s difficult to argue with
Celtic’s sustainable approach, which has worked well over a number of years,
many have the feeling that the club has lacked ambition, leading to the current
discontent.
The strategy was succinctly summarised by Lawwell, “We will
continue to balance short-term performance with long-term financial stability.”
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