Celtic: Scottish champions announce fall in profit and revenue due to Covid-19
- Published
Celtic missed out on four home matches when last season was curtailed
Celtic have announced a pre-tax profit of just £101,000 to 30 June 2020 with group revenue falling by £13m from the previous year as the club deals with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Accounts published, external by the Scottish champions show income dropping by 15.8% from £83.4m to £70.2m.
Last year's profit before taxation was £11.3m.
Chairman Ian Bankier said Covid-19 has had an "adverse impact on our operations and our balance sheet".
"At the time of writing we, like many football clubs and indeed many businesses, are still grappling with the challenges the pandemic presents including the near term uncertainty," he said.
"[The impact on financial results] was largely attributable to the value destructive impact of the pandemic across many aspects of our business. Nevertheless, these results are satisfactory in the circumstances at hand."
Group revenue - down by 15.8% to £70.2m (2019: £83.4m)
Operating expenses including labour - down by 7.3% to £80.5m (2019: £86.9m)
Player sales - £24.2m (2019: £17.7m)
Player purchases - £20.7m (2019: £6.2m)
Profit before taxation - £0.1m (2019: £11.3m)
Year-end cash net of bank borrowings - £18.2m (2019: £28.6m)
Celtic's statement shows that operating expenses also dropped, with a 7.3% reduction in outgoings amounting to £80.5m.
A total of £24.2m in player sales was brought in - a large part of that down to Kieran Tierney's sale to Arsenal - in an increase of transfer income of £6.5m on the previous year.
However, spending on transfer fees also shot up to £20.7m, including Christopher Jullien and Boli Bolingoli, from the £6.2m of the previous 12 months.
Writing in the accounts, chief executive Peter Lawwell warned the club's ambition must be balanced against safeguarding its future.
"The year ahead is unpredictable and Celtic are not immune to the extent of the challenges that we could face at many levels," he said.
"Whilst we will continue to invest and not deviate from our strategy, we are also cognisant that we may have to endure the Covid-19 restrictions for longer than we would all hope and therefore must balance our desire to progress the club against long-term sustainability."