soccer

Celtic report £13.2m pre-tax interim profit

Celtic remain in contention in three competitions this season [SNS]

Celtic have reported a pre-tax profit of £13.2m in their interim results for the six months to December.

The defending Scottish Premiership champions took in £59.4m in revenue during the accounting period, which was down almost 29% on the previous year's interim figure of £83.5m.

After a play-off loss to Kairat Almaty on penalties, Celtic missed out on a fourth successive season in the Champions League and instead have played in this term's Europa League, which contributed heavily to the reduced revenue.

The club started the season with Brendan Rodgers as manager before he resigned in October and Martin O'Neill took over for eight games.

Wilfried Nancy was appointed as Rodgers' replacement but was sacked after six defeats in eight games, prompting O'Neill's return for the remainder of the season.

All three managers have overseen Europa League fixtures, with Celtic qualifying for the knockout round and set to face Stuttgart over two legs this month.

In the Premiership, Celtic sit third, a point off Rangers, but have a game in hand over the Ibrox side and leaders Hearts, with the top two meeting in Glasgow on Sunday after O'Neill's team face Kilmarnock away.

One of Nancy's losses was the Premier Sports Cup final defeat by St Mirren in December but Celtic are through to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals and will visit Rangers in that competition and the Premiership next month.

Celtic women have also changed head coach this season, with Grant Scott replacing Elena Sadiku following her move to Hacken in December. Celtic are fourth in the SWPL, five points off leaders Glasgow City, and visit Hearts in Sunday's Women's Scottish Cup quarter-final.

Celtic say "profit from transfer of player registrations" was £14.1m, down from £21.5m, while "acquisition of player registrations" more than halved to £13.7m.

The club had cash reserves of £67.4m at 31 December, down around £10m from the figure posted for the year to June 2025.

Chairman Brian Wilson acknowledged there had been "a great deal of change and disruption" during the accounting period.

"Our exit from the Champions League in August 2025 was a bitter blow," he said.

"Appointing a manager in mid-season inevitably comes with challenges, and regrettably the implementation of Wilfried's style and ideas did not achieve our immediate objective of winning games and we took the difficult decision to part company with Wilfried in January 2026.

"We again turned to Martin, Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham and their backroom colleagues to steer the club through to the coming summer and are pleased to have seen Celtic return to winning football matches in early 2026.

"We owe them and the players, who have also had to deal with change and uncertainty, a great debt of gratitude."

O'Neill recently described the prospect of meetings between the Celtic board and supporters' groups as "a big step forward" and hopes a "middle ground" can be found to end the acrimony around the club.

Some fans boycotted Saturday's Scottish Cup win against Dundee, the latest in a series of protests against the board's stewardship of the club and a perceived lack of investment in the men's first team.

And Wilson commented: "In recent months, the board has acknowledged that mistakes have been made. We are endeavouring to develop, enhance and refresh key areas of governance and strategies.

"The immediate priorities are to restore stability, achieve unity and deliver football success. These have provided the foundations for the achievements of the past 20 years – a period of outstanding success within the club's entire history."

Wilson also anticipated "a reduction in earnings" in the second half of the season, in keeping with previous years.

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