Celtic published their preliminary results for the year to 30 June 2022 yesterday. After two years affected by the global crisis, results on and off the park are back on form.
Accounting standards require Celtic to compare results with the previous year, however, the crisis makes comparisons with years ending June 2020 and 2021 unhelpful for strategic trend spotting (clearly, all indicators were significantly improved on both years).
Where appropriate, we will compare to year ending June 2019, the last season with full attendances, which also saw Europa League participation.
Headline figures are eye catching. Income was £88.2m (2019: £83.41m), expenses were higher still at £91.7m (2019: £86.94m). That small trading loss was more than offset by the busiest 12 months transfer activity in recent memory.
The financial year encompassed three incredibly busy transfer windows (Jul 21, Aug 21, Jan 22, Jun 22). Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer made up the bulk of the £29m income from player sales. Most of that figure goes straight to the bottom line.
Deals to sign Liel Abada, Carl Starfelt, Josip Juranovic, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Alexandro Bernabei, Cameron Carter-Vickers and our four Japanese players were all signed during the 12-month period. Jota’s permanent signature was publicly announced on 1 July this year, it is unclear if this deal was also included in the figures to 30 June, we will find out when the annual report is published.
Total spend on player registrations for the period was £38.4m. This clearly represents the bulk of the spend for two years. While it is astronomically high, it is not appropriate to compare to any one year.
Profit is right on Celtic’s trend: appropriately small at £6.1m, with cash at 30 June of £30.2m – which is net of bank borrowings.
Income from football and stadium operations softened by around 1% since the last fully open year, £42.782m (2019: £43.252m. Multimedia and other commercial is also down, £20.528m (2019: £22.082m), due to fewer games and less prize money in the Europa League.
These falls were more than offset by merchandising income of £24.925m, a 38% increase on the £18.076m earned in 2019. Every year at this time we track this figure, it is a key metric that Celtic can budget on to offset inherent risks in European prize money. Income here has almost doubled in six years, from £12.577m.
This increase alone bridges more than half the gap between Champions League and Europa League revenue. Compared to where we were six years ago, it is as though the commercial department are bringing in Champions League money every second year.
It is a key component in why Celtic can continue to trade normally without adverse results jeopardising the club. The partnership with Adidas and (subsequently) JD Sport has been enormously beneficial. Much of the reason why we were able to rebound so successfully from the failures in 2020-21 is down to the achievements of the commercial team.
Chief executive Michael Nicholson, in his first review of our annual figures, made two points worth bookmarking.
“UEFA announced… a new Champions League format post 2024…. There is an expectation that, once implemented, this would lead to increased media rights, which would in turn benefit all participating clubs”.
“UEFA introduced significant enhancements in financial governance by introducing new Financial Sustainability Regulations to replace the previous Financial Fair Play Regulations…. These are being introduced on a phased basis from summer 2022 and have the effect of introducing more rigorous spending controls and more definitive sanctions in order to create a sustainable future for the European Club environment.”
The European game changes both financially and competitively in 2024. Celtic have targeted this date for a while and want to be part of the story.
Uefa’s FFP spending controls and sanctions have been opaque since their inception, which has competitively hampered Celtic. What to do about it?
Michael Nicholson went on to say, “Celtic played a significant role at a strategic and technical level in the development of the new regulations, continuing to demonstrate our strategy of participating and contributing to the future of the game at the highest level.”
One of our old pals played the significant role at a strategic level in putting this right, while one of our current backroom team was an architect of the technical details. Despite the bevvy of trophies we’ve won in recent years, I believe Celtic suffered most in European football from the financial mismanagement of others. Some who bore the scars of this issue got to write the new rules, the consequences of which hit home elsewhere this summer. Perhaps some compensation.
Great results, well done to all.
335 Comments- Pages:
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CELTIC40ME @ 8:59 AM,
The point wasn’t holding cash per se, it was hoarding cash while not backing the manager.
I’m not entirely sure why any Celtic supporter would think it was a good idea to refuse to pay the £3M asking price of John McGinn who was supposed to replace Stuart Armstrong who we sold for £7M and having ten times that much in the bank.
As for now, the Board has backed Ange to the tune of over £38M pounds in the last financial year, while “hoarding” over £30M pound.
Fair play to them, sounds like we are getting the balance right.
Hail Hail
As for now, the Board has backed Ange to the tune of over £38M pounds
Gain on sale of player registrations of £29.0m (2021: £9.4m)
spend approx 9 mill
Ange has money to spend in January window
CHAIRBHOY on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 9:18 AM
“With Lenny MK I, we broke up a team that was performing and needed strengthening, selling several of our top players and brought in prospects.”
But not just prospects, we bought players who also played in the first team
The success, or otherwise of those players, is immaterial for the purposes of your argument. It was the intention that matters – whether he was backed. We spent 12m on 7 players who, as always were a mixture of talent to be developed and sold, first team-ready, and, most importantly both.
“Now the fact that one of them would be world class, one was a club stalwart, one was a sick note, one had huge potential but didn’t settle, a few had no potential, isnt really the point.”
That’s not fact, but you’re right it isn’t the point, so I dont know why you’re making it.
Ant news on CC-V`s injury?
CELTIC40ME on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 10:06 AM
During NL tenure on player transfers, there are two questions
Who had the final say on transfers
Where did the recommendations/scouting for players originate
CHAIRBHOY on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 9:28 AM
“The point wasn’t holding cash per se, it was hoarding cash while not backing the manager.”
“As for now, the Board has backed Ange to the tune of over £38M pounds in the last financial year, while “hoarding” over £30M pound.”
The board backed Lenny second time round to the tune of £33m while “hoarding” less in the bank than now.
Some call it hoarding others call it fiscal prudence.
That reminds me I need to clear out my bank account, can’t have money just sitting there
Fiscal prudence, not if you pay your CEO an obscene amount of money for failure.
https://news.sky.com/story/catholics-outnumber-protestants-in-northern-ireland-for-first-time-since-its-creation-12703074
Re CC-V. All I can discover is that:
` Cameron [Carter-Vickers] pulled up a bit sore the other day`
Hmm…
THE QUIET MAN
Incidentally, I didn`t get the Sean Thornton connection either !!
CHAIRBHOY
Doesn’t your argument suggest that given the two squads Lenny and Ange inherited, the players they sold, the cash that the club was sitting on at the time, and the amounts they were allowed to spend, the board supported Lenny more than Ange so far second time round.
Bada
” The shift could drive support for the region to split away from Britain and join a united Ireland.”
My worry about that is that many of the more rabid chaps might decide to move to Scotland.
Hot smoked
I’m not good at taking note or remembering character names especially from 50s film.
Blog name chosen because I am a quiet man, honest 🤭
Hot smoked 10.36
You mean returning to their roots.
C40 @ ten to the dozen
You work hard trying to offer some sanity / rational explanation to the lazy / sloppy / self serving exploits of a management that was not up to the task.
The accounts do not tell the complete story.
They have been set up to deliver a big number that the support can point to and go Ahhh.
We need to know the spend for 22/23 — including it in the 21/22 accounts is just chicanery of the highest order. We have done it before when the focus is on news management and bigging up the efforts of the board.
My thoughts are that the budget for Summer 22 was £20mill and that has left us with money in the bank but with the squad missing a starting CB and a young / developing third striker.
My thoughts are that we should have spent more and hoarded less.
We now go into the Jan 23 window with a lot of work to do and a hope that the squad acquits itself well in the SPL and CL.
We went into 22/23 knowing two things — the previous year’s T/O figure was good for a EuL year and we had automatic entry into an increasingly lucrative CL.
So we were generating cash and we had significant new revenue streams still to come although our cost base would appear to be a bit on the high side — loan fees would be one place to look..
To only do half the recruiting we needed to do this summer in this financial environment is not where we should be — however it fits in with the pattern we have followed over the past 15 years.
The football side being well ahead of the board regarding planning and delivering growth.
At least we are not in 2010 mode and pushing players out the door.
CB @ 9.28
JMcG — that was part of the 2018 DD strop / flounce.
PL was let loose in full gimp mode to annoy / undermine BR.
The box had been opened after two years and he was off the leash.
And the rest was tragedy.
CHAIRBHOY on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 9:28 AM
I reckon McGinn’s family connection to Celtic would have counted against him with those holding the purse strings.
C40 @ 10.08
Spending — PL and his pet agents …
Discuss?
How many failed CF projects did we buy with NL / RD as manager?
How much did it cost us to get rid of them?
Exceptional items in quite a few accounts.
No wonder we couldn’t hoard cash at the time.
Tick Tock…………………………
Census figures on the religious make-up and national identity of people in Northern Ireland have been released.
Catholics have outnumbered Protestants for the first time since the partition of the island of Ireland.
Combining current religion and religion of upbringing of people in the 2021 Census shows 45.7% of the population who were ‘Catholic’ and 43.5% who were ‘Protestant, Other Christian or Christian related’ and 1.5% who were from other non Christian religions.
Census 2021 showed that 31.9% said they were “British-only” and 8% deemed themselves “British and Northern Irish”.
The population that said they were “Irish only” was 29.1%, and “Northern Irish only” was 19.8%.
42.8% identified solely or along with other national identities as ‘British’, 33.3% identified solely or along with other national identities as ‘Irish’ and 31.5% solely or along with other national identities as ‘Northern Irish’.
DUP HQ as census figures announced
https://twitter.com/IrishUnity/status/1572883839218814982?s=20&t=CdPHMoXolvMdz-o82lYMJQ
PL actively schemed to stop the JMcG transfer.
He offered JMcG his AV wages in a roundabout way.
He needed to play every game to make the numbers the same.
BR wouldn’t guarantee him a starting place in the team.
He was the manager and would pick the team on merit.
JMcG took the guaranteed AV money.
LIONROARS67 on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 10:59 AM
:-))))
6 county census numbers …
SF need to up their game and up it big.
Their voter numbers would suggest that they have work to do.
Populist / identity politics — Nats with a different flag.
Not good.
ERNIE LYNCH on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 10:55 AM
Unlike you to simply `reckon`.
LIONROARS67 @ 9:57 AM,
Ange has money to spend in January window
Well, that’s good news, what will the European challenge be after Christmas? Whatever it is I’m Ange will want to be ready for it.
CELTIC40ME on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 10:06 & 10:18 & 10:36 AM,
Well your right, how those players turned out with hindsight isn’t the point, also many of us thought the moneyball thing was a good idea at the time. (Actually, it was the implementation and the scale of the process that concerned me).
Yet it was the manager’s reaction that got me, he certainly didn’t feel he was backed, so
LIONROARS67 point at 10:15 AM is a valid one, Lenny was getting the “blame” for “buying” these players.
Hooper was a case in point, he wanted him on an improved contract and didn’t think his replacements were adequate.
So my intial piint was when we have back to back UCL campaigns, sold £30M of registrations, let several players go to free up wages – then proper investment should be made and the manager backed.
Lenny Mk II is a whole different ball game, most thought he shouldn’t have been there and they were right.
The decline from our treble treble winning side to what Ange inherited draws it’s own picture, agreed it wasn’t due to lack of investment in fact much of what was going on then smacked of the incompetence leading ineptitude.
If you may remember when Lenny came in as caretaker he had a decent squad, lots of holes filled with youngsters and loanees though.
He was told not to tinker with the set up and stated he didn’t understand it anyway.
Then they backed him and let him change things around, so by the time Ange inherits the team he has a few diamonds like Callum but mainly his top players were dispirited mercenaries.
The main lesson that we seemed to have learned from that is running your football budget on Club politics is not a good idea.
Ange didn’t get all the money to spemd at once – very wise.
Hail Hail
“THE QUIET MAN on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 10:41 AM
Hot smoked 10.36
You mean returning to their roots.”
Yes but they have had centuries to get oven ready !
LIONROARS67 on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 10:56 AM
There’s no great surprise in any of the figures (apart from maybe the 20% who identify as NI only).
But the polling suggests that there’s still a significant number of Catholics who have reservations about reunification. The main concern seems to be about NHS/healthcare. Not sure how SF, or nationalists generally, deal with that one.
45.7% – 33.3% = potential SDLP vote?
Say what you like about the 6 counties but at least they can get a census done on time.
Not Jacinda has made a complete erse of our local census.
Par for the course unfortunately.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 8:48 AM
Who would win in a fight between The Quiet Man and Sean Thornton?
Lol
THE QUIET MAN on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2022 10:41 AM
Hot smoked 10.36
You mean returning to their roots.
###
And I’m sure they’d be very welcome.
Now that Scotland, according to a Tory cooncilor, and his cult supporters on here, reckon that Scotland has moved on from sectarianism.
EL @ 11.06
They wave a red flag and start singing the Internationale.
It might catch on — KS are you listening?
The 26 counties is a horse traders paradise — accountants on the make.
And then you have the tax avoidance issue / industry.
Not good.
Looking at the posts relating to the statistical tipping point in Northern Ireland ….
… Brenda never lived to see it. Wonder what her thoughts would have been.
Protestant supremacy and succession and all that
B2B @ 11.10
Queenie / Brenda did live to see it.
The numbers published today relate to a PIT in 2021.
So either she had a good doppelganger or she was drawing breath at the time.
BSR – was actually thinking about the role of the Church of Ireland when reading the NI census posts earlier.
For some reason a scene from The Quiet Man involving the priest (Ward Bond) and Will Danehar (Victor McLaglen)
“You shake the man’s hand or I’ll read your name out at Mass on Sunday”
“I’d join the Church of Ireland first”
“As if they’d have you ! ”
😆😆
PIT = Point in Time,
MADMITCH @ 11:00 AM,
Yes, the stories abound, Hibs won’t sell to Celtic another one.
The fact is it should never have got that far, BR is on record stating he wanted all his transfers in early in the window (as Ange tries to do) John McGinn was a one and was going for a song with his heart set on Celtic – it takes a different level of ineptitude to cock that one up.
ERNIE LYNCH @ 10:55 AM,
That’s interesting, there was a lead article on here after the fiasco saying John’s grandad had got a call from Celtic PLC to help them out with the deal, I found that most bizarre.
Hail Hail
https://twitter.com/frankdevlin2/status/1572836682717663233?t=NBMv8o_dbzZt4deDCiLbfw&s=19
Pat McMahon was he Glasgow bhoy?
HH