Celtic Preliminary Results
Date : 15/08/2008 @ 13:31
Source : UK Regulatory (RNS and others)
Stock : Celtic Plc (CCP)
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Celtic Preliminary Results




RNS Number : 4447B
Celtic PLC
15 August 2008





CELTIC plc

Preliminary Results for the year ended 30 June 2008


SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS

Operational Highlights

* Winners of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League

* Progression to the last sixteen of the UEFA Champions League, playing five home
European fixtures (2007: 4)

* Season ticket sales continued to be in excess of 53,000

* 28 home matches played at Celtic Park in the year (2007: 28)

* Opening of new training academy at Lennoxtown

* Contract extensions awarded to Artur Boruc, Scott McDonald, Shunsuke Nakamura and
Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe




Financial Highlights


* Group revenue reduced by 3 % to £72.95 m (2007: £75.24m)

* Operating expenses increased by 8.1% to £ 64.09m (2007: £59.28m)

* Profit from trading before asset transactions and exceptional operating expenses of
£8.86 m (2007: £15.95m)

* Exceptional operating expenses of £3.19m (2007: £2.88m)

* Gain on disposal of intangible assets of £5.70m (2007: £9.40m)

* Profit before taxation of £4.44m (2007: £15.04m)

* Year end bank debt of £3.52m (2007: £4.99m) net of cash

* Investment of £5.11m (2007: £14.44m) in the acquisition of intangible assets

For further information contact:

Dr John Reid, Celtic plc Tel:
Peter Lawwell, Celtic plc Tel:
Iain Jamieson, Celtic plc Tel:






In my first Annual Report as Chairman I am pleased that I can report that we continue to
build on our recent track record of success.
Our results for the year to 30 June 2008 demonstrate strong underlying performance on and off
the pitch, and the resilience that is needed
to deliver continuing success in domestic and European football.

Last year's outstanding financial and football performance was always going to be a hard
act to follow. Record turnover, income and
profit, a second successive Premier League title and progress beyond the group stages in
Europe set a challenging precedent.

Despite all of that I'm delighted to report that Celtic rose to the challenge. We had our
disappointments and our tragedies but we
performed sufficiently creditably on all fronts this year to allow me to report a satisfactory
year for shareholders and supporters. We have
returned a profit for the second successive year and a Championship title for a third.
Achievements off the field reflect great credit on
our staff and management. Those in the football arena equally so.

And the manner in which football success was achieved perhaps surpassed even the height of
the achievement itself; certainly in terms of
drama. Season 2007/2008 truly was a remarkable season, marked by courage, character and
determination. "Over and Over" in the words of the
old song, we did indeed see it through, to ultimate success. Gordon Strachan's team won the
Clydesdale Bank Premier League for the third
consecutive year, after a long and tiring campaign resolved by a narrow margin at the very
last match, and again reached the last 16 in the
UEFA Champions League. Our success in these two competitions more than compensated for the
disappointment of an early exit from the CIS Cup
and defeat in the Scottish Cup.

As ever, football performance continues to drive our finances. At £72.95m our turnover
came close to but did not match last year's
exceptional figure of £75.24m. The decrease of 3% was almost entirely due to a reduction in
merchandising sales in a year when there was
only one strip launch, as opposed to two the year before. More challenging conditions in the
high street undoubtedly played a part. Despite
the UEFA Champions League television market pool being shared, our multimedia revenues
remained virtually the same, increasing by £0.08m due
mostly to improved partner and sponsorship income.

Operating expenses increased by 8.1% to £64.09m (2007:£59.28m) mainly from increased
labour costs, travel and accommodation for our
overseas games and costs from new facilities, in particular the Lennoxtown Training Centre.
Overall, our total labour cost to turnover
ratio, while up on last year, stood at a creditable and manageable 53.4% with a healthy profit
from trading before asset transactions and
exceptional items of £8.86m. Although well down on last year's record of £15.95m, this
reflects the impact of the decease in turnover and
the investment in players, staff and facilities as part of our longer term strategy.

In the current football player market it is increasingly clear that our ability to compete
on transfer fees and wages with clubs from
the five main footballing nations, and particularly in England, is limited. In consequence, we
look to gain advantage through improved
scouting, player development and coaching and the use of sports science and performance
analysis. We will continue to invest in these areas,
as well as in maintaining and improving the quality of the first team squad. Hinkel, Robson,
Mizuno and Hutchison were acquired during the
season, with extensions to the contracts of Boruc, McDonald, Nakamura and Doumbe. More
recently, the extension for Aiden McGeady and the
acquisition of Samaras and Crosas should contribute to our football capability. At the time of
writing, prior to the close of the transfer
window, we continue to look for opportunities to strengthen our squad.

Our profit before tax of £4.44m (2007: £15.04m) also reflects exceptional operating
expenses of £3.19m that we have decided to take this
year for the early termination of certain employment contracts and a decrease of £3.70m in
profit from player trading this year compared to
last. Net year-end bank debt has improved, at £3.52m (2007: £4.99m) mainly due to strong
trading performance.

Our business model is starting to deliver profits each year, although we have seen in the
last two years the difference that
participation in European competition makes. Credit is again due to Gordon Strachan, his
backroom staff and the players for delivering on
the pitch, and to Peter Lawwell and the management team for maintaining a high level of
trading performance in an increasingly difficult
economic environment. I would like to express my appreciation to my fellow directors and my
predecessor Brian Quinn for the advice and
support they have given to me over the past year. Our international aspirations continue, with
new relationships formed in the United
States, the Far East and Australia and the appointment of a new Director of International
Development specifically tasked with identifying
and exploiting new business opportunities overseas.

Scottish football, with the notable exception of Gretna, has proved to be more robust,
with the SPL becoming more competitive and the
hard work and difficult decisions made in earlier years now creating a more sustainable
financial position overall. The improvement in
broadcasting revenues from an extended contract with Setanta is also welcome. But without our
supporters, none of this would be possible and
so to you, I extend our thanks and appreciation for your backing throughout the year.

But satisfying though our success this year has been, it was ultimately overshadowed by
more personal events. The sadness that was felt
from the deaths of former colleagues, including John Cushley and Phil O'Donnell deepened on
the death of Tommy Burns. There are few people
who command such affection that ten of thousands from all walks of life and communities turn
out to pay their respects. Celtic is a special
club, and Tommy was a very special man. He embodied what we would all regard as the best
qualities of Celtic People.

It was fitting, therefore, that this year we introduced the idea of using the Championship
flag unfurling ceremony as a means of
recognising those who have served this club, in whatever capacity. I hope we have thereby
established a continuing tradition. This year
there could not have been a more fitting Guest of Honour than Rosemary Burns, representing not
only Tommy's memory, but our wider
appreciation of all those involved in the Celtic Family.

It is a reminder that Celtic is about people. Whatever the results and the resources,
however grand the surroundings or the spectacles,
it is ultimately Celtic people - management, coaches, players, staff, shareholders and
supporters - who make the difference. We are a great
football club and a thriving company. But we are more than that. Whatever role we play in
association with Celtic, we have a sense of
community, of heritage, of purpose, of reaching out and of belonging to a wider Celtic family.
I am pleased to report that that sense too
remains as strong as ever. Celtic Charity Fund continued its marvellous work with
distributions made to 69 good causes during the year. More
than £400,000 was raised in addition to in-kind contributions from the Club through tickets,
memorabilia and other donations reaching an
estimated value of £127,000. The Charity Fund played a key role in the organisation of the
Phil O'Donnell Tribute game in May, with a
capacity crowd displaying the spirit and generosity that make this Club unique.

Our people are our future. Looking ahead, we are not immune to external pressures. With
rising food, fuel and energy costs, our
supporters face greater financial challenges than for many years. We must compete effectively,
manage costs well and provide good value for
money if we are to maintain our position. I am pleased that supporters are sharing in our
recent financial success; standard season ticket
prices have been frozen for this season and new concessionary rates have been introduced to
encourage more children and younger people to
attend.

This new generation of Celtic supporters will see European competition again at Celtic
Park this season, with direct entry this year
coming from our SPL success. An exciting season awaits; the new UEFA Champions League
structure means that the winners of the Scottish
Premier League in 2008/2009 will again earn direct entry. That is our objective - we aim to
succeed.






Dr John Reid 15 August 2008
Chairman



INTRODUCTION

I am delighted to report on another busy and successful year. However, a year which saw
the tremendous achievement of a third successive
SPL title will also be remembered for the passing of one of Celtic's greatest sons, Tommy
Burns. St Mary's Church in Calton was a fitting
venue for the funeral of the East End Bhoy who had devoted so much of his life to Celtic
Football Club. Tributes received and attendees at
the moving service demonstrated how Tommy transcended the football world and the divide in
Glasgow. It was a privilege to work alongside him
and he is hugely missed by us all. Sadly, the last twelve months have also witnessed the loss
of former Celts John Cushley, who had latterly
been the Club's Education and Welfare Officer, and of Motherwell club captain Phil O'Donnell,
who died tragically during a match. They will
never be forgotten and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends.

On the field, Celtic came from a near-impossible position with a fantastic late season
surge to retain the Clydesdale Bank Premier
League title for 2007/8 for the third year in a row. Gordon Strachan thus became the first
Celtic manager to guide his team to this
magnificent feat since the days of Jock Stein. The team promptly dedicated their achievement
to the memory of Tommy Burns. Since the turn of
the millennium, Celtic has won the title six years out of eight, missing out by just a hair's
breadth on the other two occasions. It has
been a truly dominant period for the Hoops and long may it continue.

This success in winning the League title has provided us with automatic entry to the UEFA
Champions League Group Stage for Season
2008/09.

Celtic again proved a formidable force in Europe in 2007/08, particularly at Celtic Park.
Facing a strong Spartak Moskow side in the
third qualifying round for the Champions League, we drew away and at home before eventually
winning on penalties in a nail-biting tie, which
enabled us to progress to the Group Stage of the competition. There we played against Shakhtar
Donetsk, Benfica and AC Milan, scoring
memorable home victories against all three. This enabled us to once again progress to the last
16, where we were ultimately defeated by
Barcelona.


FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Celtic's trading results for the year to 30 June 2008 are very strong, emphasising the
significant benefits from participation in the
UEFA Champions League. The Club's reported profit of £4.44m is again a most pleasing result
in a financially demanding football sector,
although some way short of the previous year's exceptional profit performance, due largely to
a reduced contribution from player trading and
higher costs, including football salaries, resulting from additions to the squad which will
enable us to compete more successfully in the
Champions League.

Group turnover has reduced by £2.28m, 3.0%, to £72.95m from last year, largely as a
result of a reduction in merchandising sales, having
not launched a new home kit in 2007. We played 28 home matches, the same as last year.

Operating expenses, excluding exceptional operating costs and asset transactions, have
increased by £4.81m, 8.1%, to £64.09m,
predominantly due to increased labour and uplifts in other overheads, such as rent, rates,
depreciation and travel, offset by lower cost of
sales. The amortisation charge of £5.60m compares with £5.86m last year reflecting a
continued investment in the playing squad. Exceptional
costs of £3.19m represent charges associated with the early termination of employment
contracts and an impairment provision in respect of
intangible assets and compare to £2.88m last year. The financial performance also benefited
from a gain on disposal of intangible assets of
£5.70m mainly represented by the sale of Beattie, Marshall, Bjarnasson, Jarosik and Miller.
The financial performance has resulted in year
end net bank debt being reduced to £3.52m from £4.99m last year.


FOOTBALL INVESTMENT

The Club plans to build on the success achieved in recent years. We will continue to try
to strengthen the first team squad whilst
managing our financial resources carefully and responsibly. The investment made last year and
this, both on new players and on contract
extensions, should continue to yield benefits in the coming season and beyond.

For the 2007/08 season significant sums were invested to strengthen the playing squad,
with new signings including Scott McDonald from
Motherwell, Andreas Hinkel from Seville, Ben Hutchinson from Middlesbrough, Koki Mizuno from
JEF United in Japan and Barry Robson from
Dundee United. We also recruited Georgios Samaras from Manchester City on loan and have since
secured the player on a permanent contract.

Important contract extensions were also secured for Artur Boruc, Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe,
Scott McDonald and Shunsuke Nakamura.

Of the senior players, David Marshall, Craig Beattie and Kenny Miller all left the club in
summer 2007, whilst Maciej Zurawski and Jiri
Jarosik departed in the January transfer window. Players loaned out during the year included
Thomas Gravesen and Adam Virgo, whilst Stephen
Pressley's contract expired at the end of May. Stephen in particular has had a very positive
influence at the Club, especially on many of
the younger players.

During the season, no less than fifteen Celtic players were called up for senior
international duty, including five with Scotland.

Gordon Strachan and his assistant Garry Pendrey continue to plan for further progression.
The coaching team has been strengthened with
the return of Neil Lennon to the Club, whilst the backroom team has been augmented with the
appointment of Chris McCart as Head of Academy
and Youth.

Behind the scenes we have secured the services of Ben Mackenzie as Strength and
Conditioning Coach. Ben reports to Gregory Dupont, Head
of Sport Science. Physiotherapist Graham Parsons has also returned to Celtic as part of Dr
Derek McCormack's medical team.

Planned trading of players and the development of younger players continue to be integral
parts of our longer-term strategy to manage
costs effectively. As in season 2007/08 any new signings and/or contract extensions must be at
a financially viable level or, alternatively,
funded from incremental profits. Our new youth scouting and development arrangements will help
this process, under the stewardship of Chris
McCart. We plan to continue to invest heavily in sports science, scouting, youth development
and performance analysis.

The benefits of the new purpose-built training facility and football academy, which opened
at Lennoxtown last autumn, will be
self-evident and ultimately will help ensure that players are recruited, developed and traded
in the most efficient and cost effective way
possible.


FOOTBALL OPERATIONS

In progressing in Europe and retaining the domestic title, Celtic played a total of 54
competitive matches during the 2007/08 season,
winning 35 and losing 12, with 7 matches drawn. All concerned once again deserve great
credit.

Aiden McGeady deservedly won the SPFA Player and Young Player of the Year awards following
an outstanding season.

Celtic's reserve side under Willie McStay and Danny McGrain won the SPL Reserve
Championship for an astonishing seventh year in
succession, winning 14, drawing 4 and losing only 3 matches, whilst scoring 56 goals and
conceding just 18 in the process. It is planned
that the majority of reserve home SPL fixtures for 2008/09 will again be played at the
Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie.

The Under 19s, managed by John McLaughlan, finished second in their championship and
reached the final of the youth cup, whilst the
Glasgow Cup was resurrected in August 2008 with an impressive victory for a Celtic Under 18
side against Rangers at Clyde's Broadwood
Stadium.


TICKET SALES

Season 2007/08 was another successful year. Standard season ticket sales again exceeded
50,000 with a value of more than £17m.

Overall match ticket sales of just over 400,000 generated revenue in excess of £8m. A
qualifying match and progression into the last
16 of the UEFA Champions League for the second successive year accounted for nearly 272,500 of
the total ticket sales, at a value of £6.4 m.


YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Around 2.5 million lottery chances were sold under the various schemes operated by Celtic
Development Pools Limited during the period
from July 2007 to June 2008. Nearly £1m was donated to Celtic Football Club's Development
Division for the purposes of youth development,
whilst a similar sum was paid out in prize money to supporters from all over the country.
Celtic Development Pools Limited remains the most
successful football club lottery operation in Britain and one of the most successful in the
charitable lotteries sector through its Weekly
Pool and Paradise Windfall products.

The weekly Celtic Pool lottery has performed better than most football club and charitable
lottery products in a challenging
marketplace, due largely to successful new branding and marketing initiatives.

The Paradise Windfall match day draw operated at Celtic Park was again a major success
story for Celtic Development Pools with a top
prize of £8,000 on offer, the biggest cash prize in UK football. Prize money of approximately
£1.7 million has now been paid out to Celtic
supporters on the pitch at Celtic Park since the start of the Windfall in 1995 and the top
prize this season will be £8,500.


CELTIC FOUNDATION

The Celtic Foundation continues to support the Club's social dimension reflecting the
reasons Brother Walfrid founded Celtic back in the
1880s. The Foundation also continues to work closely with key partners to deliver on policy
direction set by local and central government in
the following areas:
* Health and Well-being
* Education
* Employment
* Anti-bigotry Campaigns
* Anti-social behaviour
* Youth Disorder / Crime
* Social Inclusion Projects
The Celtic Foundation structure is indicative of the importance Celtic attaches to its
role in the community with the Club involved in
more educational, charitable and community initiatives than at any time in its history. We are
also delighted that Billy Connolly has agreed
to become the Patron of the Celtic Foundation.
The Foundation integrates a number of very successful established project areas with new
business ventures, such as:

* Celtic Charity Fund, which enjoyed a record year, raising over £400,000 for good
causes
* Celtic Learning Programmes and the Learning Centre
* Football in the Community and community coaching programmes across both domestic and
international markets
* The Celtic Girls Community / Youth Academy and the Celtic Ladies FC
* Anti-bigotry initiatives, including anti-racism and anti-sectarianism
* Old Firm Alliance Project
* Celtic Against Drugs
* Support Employment
* Services to Schools

Celtic in the Community is the leading Premier Community Club in Scotland and arguably the
UK. It provides a coaching and development
service tailored to meet the needs of children, teenagers and adults. The range of products
and services has grown considerably during the
past year providing opportunities for all sectors of the community. Over one million young
people and adults have experienced a variety of
programmes or courses since the inception of the Community Programme back in 2003 and over
4,500 young people take part in programmes on a
weekly basis.

The Community programme also provides a pathway into the Celtic Youth Academy. Over 400
youngsters have been identified and invited into
the Development Centre Programme and 11 have made their way into the Academy itself.

The introduction of the Girls Community / Youth Academy, Celtic Ladies Reserves and First
Team this season has proved to be a huge
success. All our squads have performed well as the following record shows:

* U11s (Developmental League - undefeated)
* U13s (Winners of the treble)
* U15s (League Championship and League Cup Winners)
* U17s (3rd in the League & League Cup Winners)
* Reserves (League Championship Winners)
* First Team (3rd in the League & Scottish Cup Finalists)

The Club is also delighted that Elaine C. Smith has agreed to become a Patron for the
Girls Youth Academy and Senior Women's Teams.

The introduction of the 'Play for Celtic' programme has been another fantastic success.
The programme provides opportunities for
youngsters to represent Celtic and wear the famous hoops in local leagues. Currently 16
Community Academy teams operate across the country,
with the aim of establishing a further 20 teams during season 2008/09.

The Community Programme has firmly established itself in Ireland in partnership with
Topflight Soccer with over 3,000 youngsters
attending a variety of courses.

Internationally, Celtic in the Community delivered free courses to thousands of youngsters
from some of America and Canada's most
deprived cities. Our community coaches also visited Japan to deliver team camps and coach
education to a number of prominent clubs in
association with TotalFootball.

We would like to thank all our strategic partners, participants and staff for their
support during 2007/08. Without their help the
progress and achievements of the Celtic Foundation would not have been possible.


MERCHANDISING

Merchandising revenue for the year reached £16.09m. This was down by £2.27m on the
previous year, due in part to the timing of kit
launches, with no new home kit having been released in 2007/08. A new dark green away kit was
launched in July 2007, but sales proved to be
disappointing. However, a new gold away kit was launched in early July 2008 and has been very
well received. A new home kit is planned for
August.

In terms of our retail outlets this year saw the opening of a temporary unit in Livingston
for the Christmas trading period and a
permanent store was opened in Inverness in June 2008. The Club's first franchise operation was
opened in Dundee in November 2007.
Concessions within Debenhams traded in three locations: Glasgow City Centre, Silverburn and
Inverness. Major refurbishment of the Argyle
Street store is planned for the autumn of 2008.

A range of signed merchandise and limited editions was introduced at the Superstore this
year and this will be rolled out to further
stores in the coming months. The Official History of Celtic DVD box set is due for release in
the autumn.

This year saw the launch of TeamCard across the stores. This is a loyalty card, which
allows customers to collect reward points on
purchases and to redeem these points against merchandise and season tickets.


MULTI MEDIA

The Celtic View remains the oldest weekly club publication in football and celebrated its
43rd year by reporting on Celtic's successful
league campaign. The magazine, now a 72-page, A4 production, continues to bring supporters
exclusive interviews with the manager and the
first-team squad, as well as features on Celtic's history and articles about fans throughout
the world. Last Christmas a book celebrating
the 100 best Celtic View covers since the magazine began in 1965 was published by Headline to
great success.

The publications team also produce a match programme for every home fixture.

In the past financial year Channel 67, which is now in its 10th year, has offered a new
service to overseas subscribers called
'Premium', which has been very well received and has exceeded forecasts. This service offers
subscribers with higher bandwidth capability
the chance to view each live game in a much higher resolution, consistent with the type of
quality associated with TV or DVD.

The department continues to offer a support service across the business, which has
included DVD production, event production and
management. It has also supported the Football Department with analysis of Celtic's
performance on the pitch and that of opposing teams.

The Multi Media team offer video production for internal and sales purposes as well as
adapting the official Celtic website
(www.celticfc.net) to meet the requirements of other departments at the Club. Multi Media
successfully designed a website for the Phil
O'Donnell Tribute and played a part in organising and managing the match event itself. It also
assisted with the production and presentation
of the George McCluskey Testimonial Dinner, the Club's Annual Charity Dinner and the AGM.

Other successful official events included the annual Player of the Year Awards, the
opening ceremony for the Training Centre at
Lennoxtown and the Centenary Dinner. The team also worked closely with the Burns family,
Celtic's Operations department and external
agencies to ensure that Tommy's funeral was covered comprehensively and sensitively.

The long-awaited 'Official History of Celtic Football Club' DVDs (a four-disc, 400-minute
box set) was completed in 2008 and is a
chronological account of 120 years of Celtic Football Club. Presented by Celtic director Brian
Wilson, the History features nearly a hundred
interviews filmed specifically for the purpose as well as Celtic footage that has never
previously been seen.

Other DVDs produced internally in the past year included 'Humbled by the Hoops' - a
collection of great Celtic goals against Rangers -
and a season review entitled 'Twists and Turns'. This DVD tells the story of the 2007/08
championship-winning campaign and is dedicated to
Tommy Burns.

Multi Media continued to develop the Setanta relationship with Celtic TV, with the Club
retaining editorial control. We are continuing
to develop the matchday experience and have managed events at Celtic Park, at Tannadice on the
last day of season 2007/8 and at the 'Fan
Zone' in Barcelona earlier this year.


PUBLIC RELATIONS

The level of media interest and activity around the Club was again extremely high during
the year, particularly as a consequence the
Club's progression to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League and continued domestic success
in winning our third successive SPL
Championship.

The PR Department manages a substantial level of media coverage for a range of Club
activities at a national level, including
commercial, charitable and community events. In addition, the Department plays an important
role in dealing with supporter enquiries,
working closely with supporter organisations and liaising directly with Glasgow City Council
and other bodies to ensure the Club maintains
its important social dimension.


BRAND PROTECTION

Celtic protects its intellectual property rights throughout the year, by stopping those
not authorised to do so from using the Celtic
brand. This ensures that the Celtic brand remains a valuable asset of the Club and that we are
able to work towards making Celtic one of
football's biggest global brands.

The Club has once again worked closely with the enforcement authorities, including the
police, customs and trading standards, along with
other trade mark holders and trade bodies to enforce its rights. Counterfeit goods to the
value of approximately £250,000 were removed from
the marketplace.

Celtic will continue to maintain and enforce its intellectual property rights where
necessary to ensure that the Celtic brand remains
adequately protected from misuse by third parties in order to maximise worldwide
opportunities.


PARTNER PROGRAMME

Our success in gaining new partners and the retention of key existing partners led to the
Season 2007/08 budget being achieved. The
backdrop of the existing Nike and Carling deals, both of which run until 2010, gave focus to
key renewals such as MBNA. The value of this
five year contract alone has increased nearly threefold. This,complemented by new partners
such as Seat Exchange, BT, News Group, Sports
Revolution and Sanyo, has increased both profile and revenue from the UK and overseas.

The installation of LED Perimeter advertising boards at Celtic Park for Season 2008/09, as
well as being a significant cash investment,
lifts the Club to another level and has already offered Celtic opportunities to secure new
partners. The appointment of a new Director of
International Development will assist us in identifying and exploiting new revenue streams
overseas as well as a strategic approach to
market in conjunction with other Club departments.


STADIUM

During the course of the year Celtic Football Club continued to promote the valuable
partnership and close liaison with Glasgow City
Council Safety Team for Sports Grounds, placing spectator safety as our highest priority.

Training of colleagues responsible for public safety duties continued to be enhanced. The
Club fully participated in the Event and
Matchday Safety Course delivered in Scotland for the first time. In addition, the Club was
delighted to provide input to the Match
Commander's training programme, held at the Scottish Police College. Safety steward training
was also further developed with the
introduction of a new programme for supervisors and stewards.

The success of the current travel stewards' arrangements continued with Celtic stewards
accompanying our fans to assist with local
operations, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Celtic supporters. The Champions League away
fixture in Barcelona involved close
partnership working with the local police service and city authorities with over 40 travel
stewards in attendance. Celtic supporters took
full advantage of the amenities provided, attracting widespread local praise for their
friendly and positive behaviour.


FACILITIES

The Institute of Groundsmanship (I.O.G.) recognised the quality of the playing surface at
Celtic Park by short listing Celtic once again
for the annual Groundsman of the Year Award.

One of the biggest projects undertaken by the Celtic Facilities team was the completion,
fitting out and opening of the new Training
Centre at Lennoxtown, resulting in the successful transition of the Football Department from
Celtic Park.

Champions League participation at the group stage hastened refurbishment of the press
area. Other improvement works included
redecoration of the South Stand corporate boxes and upgrade of the lifts, whilst roof repairs
were effected to the South West and South East
corners to prevent leaks.

In terms of information technology the Club has continued to invest in upgrading its
communications and systems infrastructure to
improve security and increase functionality.

Finally, we improved our 'green' credentials through initiatives related to the reduction
of energy and water usage, which have reduced
consumption and the Club's overall carbon footprint and realised a significant annual saving.
Recycling of shredded and waste paper
continues and further energy saving initiatives will be pursued in the coming year.


CATERING AND CORPORATE HOSPITALITY

In the Number 7 Restaurant Sunday lunches and special events such as Fathers Day and
Mothers Day remained very popular with many
sittings fully booked weeks in advance. However, the restaurant experienced a difficult season
with a drop in numbers attending
'night-before' packages. Meanwhile, dinner dances in the Kerrydale Suite continued to be well
attended. It was also a very successful year
for weddings, with receptions for ethnic communities particularly popular.

Our Conference and Banqueting business continues to grow, with solid partnerships
established with NHS Scotland, Glasgow City Council
and the Asian community.

The Celtic Park Visitor Centre enjoyed a successful season, despite the first team being
relocated to Lennoxtown. The new training
facility itself was opened for a four week period during June for conducted tours.

All four home Champions League matches were sold out and packaged with SPL fixtures,
generating a high income for the Club. The AC Milan
and Barcelona matches proved to be very successful with an offsite package in a City Centre
venue.

Corporate seasonal sales were strong in all areas and SPL matches were well attended
especially in Number 7, where a high number of the
matches were sold out.


SUPPORTER RELATIONS

Use of our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database, installed in 2006/07, has
allowed us to use supporter data gathered from
across the Club more effectively, reducing marketing costs and driving revenues for both the
Club and our partners and sponsors. Ongoing
development continues to enhance the integration between the CRM database and the many
transactional systems used by the Club and our
partners. This and the increased use of lower cost communication channels such as e-mail and
SMS messaging will further improve
communication between the Club and our supporters and further reduce costs and drive revenues.


CELTIC CHARITY FUND

Celtic Charity Fund, the Club's charitable arm, enjoyed a record-breaking year, raising
over £400,000 for a range of worthy causes.
Fundraising activities included The Phil O'Donnell Tribute Match, a charity badge day at
Celtic Park, the Hoops 'n Halos Christmas Campaign
and our Annual Sporting Dinner in the Kerrydale Suite which was attended by football
management, Directors and first team players. The Big
Build - a new Marie Curie Hospice for Glasgow - was the principal beneficiary and a host of
other organisations also benefited from
significant financial support during the course of the year.

The Club's commitment to supporting worthy causes will continue in 2008/09 as we look to
increase the fundraising impetus and, in turn,
our donations to registered charities in Scotland, Ireland and across the globe.


HUMAN RESOURCES

In December Celtic became the first SPL club to receive the prestigious "Investors in
People" (IiP) award, which recognised our progress
in attaining the national standard for people management and development. The IiP assessment
has also helped us to identify priorities for
the development of Celtic colleagues going forward, which we remain committed to pursuing as
we strive to become an Employer of Choice.

In January Celtic was awarded the "Positive about Disabled People" symbol by Job Centre
Plus for the third successive year in
recognition of us meeting our commitments to colleagues and job applicants with a disability.

Latterly, in May Celtic was awarded "Tommy's" accreditation, which is recognition of the
Company's good-practice policies in respect of
pregnant employees.

About 50 pupils from local schools enjoyed a week of structured work experience at Celtic
Park during the year. This is a highly
successful ongoing programme open to all, which has received plaudits from pupils, parents and
the education authorities.

The hard work and contribution of all colleagues in another busy but successful year is
greatly appreciated.


SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

Season 2007/08 was another very successful year for Celtic, with Gordon Strachan and his
team deserving tremendous credit for their
achievements. We progressed to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the second
successive season and domestically the Club secured
the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title for the third year in a row.

Football success continues to greatly assist trading performance which, in addition to the
gains reported from player trading, has
resulted in strong financial results for the year to 30 June 2008. Equally it is recognised
that the football sector remains financially
difficult, particularly given current wage inflation. As such the revenues generated by
progress in European competitions are of major
significance and provide greater flexibility regarding player investment. Winning the SPL
title has provided Celtic with direct entry to the
group stage of the UEFA Champions League for season 2008/09, which has allowed the Club to
plan with more certainty both financially and
operationally.

The Club's highly significant strategy of major capital investment in the new training
academy at Lennoxtown is designed to increase the
number of internally generated youth players establishing themselves in the first team.
Lennoxtown represents a Centre of Excellence for
creating and developing Champions League quality players. Furthermore, considerable additional
investment in coaching, scouting and sports
science facilities will enable the Club to identify, recruit and develop the cream of
footballing talent on a global scale.

There has also been investment in systems and resource to provide a comprehensive database
and state of the art performance analysis of
existing players and recruitment targets. These initiatives, together with ongoing realistic
management of football labour costs, should
result in a cost base and financial model that is sustainable.

Trading at the beginning of the new financial year has been encouraging. Seasonal sales of
standard, premium and corporate tickets are
at levels comparable with last year and a new away football kit has been successfully launched
in a competitive merchandise market. Like
last year, additional revenue streams continue to be sought and enhanced commercial
agreements, including the new SPL television contract,
should boost income. Celtic enjoys partnerships with several international companies, which
continues to provide the foundation of our
income streams going forward.

David Thomson, our Commercial Director, is leaving us this summer. We are grateful for his
contribution to our commercial success in
recent years and wish him well in his future career. The appointment of a direct replacement
and the progressive decision to recruit a new
Director of International Development reflect the Club's strategy to maximise revenue
generation and to enhance the value of the Celtic
brand both domestically and overseas.

The Club now wishes to build on the success achieved in recent years. It is imperative
that we attain domestic success and continue the
process of restoring Celtic as a credible force in Europe. It is essential that we maintain a
team that can compete successfully,
particularly in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. This season the winners will gain direct
entry to the group stage of the 2009/10 UEFA
Champions League.

The emphasis on careful and patient use of our financial resources will characterise our
efforts to strengthen the first team squad and
a number of player trading initiatives continue to be progressed.

Overall the key Company objective remains football success, as this will greatly assist
revenue generation. However, the funding of that
success must clearly recognise the financial constraints applicable to the organisation,
particularly as Celtic continues to play in the
Scottish football environment.

Once again, the biggest challenge facing your Board is the management of salary and
transfer costs whilst achieving playing success in
order to yield satisfactory financial results.






Peter T Lawwell 15 August 2008
Chief Executive


CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
2008 2007
Operations
excluding
player Player Total Total
trading trading £000 £000
£000 £000

Continuing operations:
Revenue 2 72,953 - 72,953 75,237

Operating expenses (64,095) - (64,095) (59,283)

Profit from trading before
asset transactions and 8,858 - 8,858 15,954
exceptional items

Exceptional operating expenses 3 (2,836) (353) (3,189) (2,879)

Amortisation of intangible - (5,598) (5,598) (5,865)
assets

Profit on disposal of
intangible assets - 5,695 5,695 9,397

Loss on disposal of property
plant and equipment (268) - (268) (339)

Profit/(Loss) before finance
costs and tax 5,754 (256) 5,498 16,268

Finance costs:
Bank loans and overdrafts (519) (484)
Convertible preference shares 4 (544) (744)

Profit before tax
4,435 15,040

Taxation 5 - -

Profit for the year from 4,435 15,040
continuing operations

Profit for the year 4,435 15,040
attributable to equity holders
of the parent


Basic earnings per ordinary 6 5.09p 18.53p
share

Diluted earnings per share 6 3.70p 11.48p








CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
2008 2007
£000 £000
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 56,315 55,861
Intangible assets 11,862 12,990


68,177 68,851

Current assets
Inventories 2,410 3,383
Trade and other receivables 6,063 7,997
Cash and cash equivalents 8,475 7,006

16,948 18,386

Total assets 85,125 87,237

Equity
Issued share capital 24,122 23,452
Share premium 14,205 14,129
Other reserve 21,222 21,222
Capital redemption reserve 2,766 2,440
Retained earnings (21,074) (24,514)

Total equity 41,241 36,729

Non-current liabilities
Interest-bearing liabilities/bank loan 12,000 12,000
Debt element of convertible preference shares 3,027 3,112
Deferred income 820 1,230
15,847 16,342

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 16,224 20,764
Current borrowings 154 158
Deferred income 11,659 13,244
28,037 34,166

Total Liabilities 43,884 50,508



Total equity and liabilities 85,125 87,237


Approved by the Board on 15 August 2008







CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY


Share Other
Capital Retained
Total
Share capital premium reserve
redemption earnings

reserve



£000 £000 £000
£000 £000
£000
Equity shareholders' funds 23,450 14,089 21,222
1,739 (38,403) 22,097
as at 1 July 2006
Share capital issued 2 40 - -
- 42
Convertible Preferred Ordinary
- - - -
(450) (450)
Share Participating Dividend
Transfer to Capital Redemption
Reserve - - - 701
(701) -
Profit for the period - - - -
15,040 15,040

Equity shareholders' funds 23,452 14,129 21,222
2,440 (24,514) 36,729
as at 30 June 2007


Share capital issued 1 76 - -
- 77
Transfer to Capital Redemption
669 - -
326 (995) -
Reserve

Profit for the period - - - -
4,435 4,435

Equity shareholders' funds 24,122 14,205 21,222
2,766 (21,074) 41,241
as at 30 June 2008








CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

2008 2007

£000 £000

Cash flows from operating activities
Profit for the year 4,435 15,040
Depreciation 1,925 1,708
Amortisation of intangible assets 5,598 5,865
Impairment of intangible assets 353 2,663
Profit on disposal of intangible assets (5,695) (9,397)
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment 268 339
Finance costs 1,063 1,228
Sub total 7,947 17,446


Decrease / (increase) in inventories 973 (1,482)
(Increase)/decrease in receivables (123) 987
Increase in payables and deferred income 2,824 1,089
Cash generated from operations 11,621 18,040
Interest paid (519) (484)
Net cash flow from operating activities - A 11,102 17,556


Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (3,605) (7,069)
Purchase of intangible assets (12,254) (10,959)
Proceeds from sale of intangible assets 8,048 5,974
Net cash used in investing activities - B (7,811) (12,054)


Cash flows from financing activities
Repayment of debt (887) (889)
Dividends paid (935) (521)
Net cash used in financing activities - C (1,822) (1,410)
Net increase in cash equivalents A+B+C 1,469 4,092
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 July 7,006 2,914
Cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 8,475 7,006





NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS


* BASIS OF PREPARATION AND ACCOUNTING POLICIES

These Financial Statements have been prepared for the first time in accordance with IFRS
as adopted by the European Union, and with
those parts of the Companies Act 1985 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS.
Accordingly, the Group has reviewed its accounting
policies, procedures, measurement techniques and disclosures in full and has made the changes
(most notably in financial statements
disclosures) required by IFRS.

Save for the changes prompted by the adoption of IFRS the accounting policies have been
consistently applied to both years presented,
and in preparing the opening IFRS balance sheet.


The Group's Profit and Loss Account follows the Financial Reporting Guidance for Football
Clubs issued in February 2003 by The Football
League, The FA Premier League and the FA, although the turnover within Note 2 continues to be
analysed in accordance within the headings of
the business operations of the Group.


2. TURNOVER


The Group's revenue comprises: 2007 2006
£000 £000


Football and stadium operations 38,580 38,671
Merchandising 16,092 18,367
Multimedia and other commercial activities 18,281 18,199

72,953 75,237



3. EXCEPTIONAL OPERATING EXPENSES


The exceptional operating expenses of £3.19m (2007: £2.88m) reflect £2.84m (2007:
£0.22m) in respect of labour and other ancillary costs
largely arising as a result of the early termination of certain employment contracts and
£0.35m (2007: £2.66m) in respect of a provision for
impairment of intangible assets.


4. DIVIDENDS

A 6% (before tax credit deduction) non-equity dividend of £0.54m (2007: £0.54m) is
payable on 31 August 2008 to those holders of
Convertible Cumulative Preference Shares on the share register at 1 August 2008. Until 30 June
2007 holders of Convertible Preferred
Ordinary Shares were entitled to a fixed dividend of 4% plus a participating dividend of up to
6%, depending upon the progress of the first
team in the UEFA Champions League beyond the group stage. The Convertible Preferred Ordinary
Share dividend in 2007 was £1.35m represented
by a fixed dividend of 4% of £0.90m plus a participating dividend of 2%, £0.45m as a result
of reaching the knockout stage of the UEFA
Champions League. A number of shareholders have elected to participate in the Company's scrip
dividend reinvestment scheme for this
financial year. Those shareholders will receive new Ordinary Shares in lieu of cash. The
implementation of the presentational aspects of
IFRS7 ("Financial Instruments: disclosure") in the preparation of the annual results, requires
that the Group's Preference Shares and Convertible Preferred Ordinary Shares, as compound
financial instruments, are
classified as a combination of debt and equity and the attributable non-equity dividends are
classified as finance costs. No dividends were
payable or proposed to be payable on the Company's Ordinary Shares.



5. TAXATION


No provision for corporation tax or deferred tax is required in respect of the year ended
30 June 2008. Estimated tax losses available
for set-off against future trading profits amount to approximately £27m (2007: £30m). This
estimate is subject to the agreement of the
current and prior years' corporation tax computations with H M Revenue and Customs.



6 EARNINGS PER SHARE





2008 2007
£000 £000
Reconciliation of net profit to basic earnings:

Net profit attributable to equity holders of the 4,435 15,040
parent

Basic earnings 4,435 15,040

Reconciliation of basic earnings to diluted
earnings:

Basic earnings 4,435 15,040

Non-equity share dividend 544 544

4,979 15,584

No.'000 No.'000
Reconciliation of basic weighted average number
of ordinary shares to
diluted weighted average number of ordinary
shares:

Basic weighted average number of ordinary shares 87,171 81,153

Dilutive effect of share options - -

Dilutive effect of convertible shares 47,252 54,625

Diluted weighted average number of ordinary 134,423 135,778
shares

Earnings per share has been calculated by dividing the profit for the period of £4.44m
(2006: £15.04m) by the weighted average number of
Ordinary Shares of 87.17m (2007: 81.15 m) in issue during the year. Diluted earnings per
share as at 30 June 2008 has been calculated by
dividing the earnings for the period by the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares,
Preference Shares and Convertible Preferred Ordinary
Shares in issue, assuming conversion at the balance sheet date, and the full exercise of
outstanding share purchase options, if dilutive, in
accordance with IAS33 Earnings Per Share. As at June 2008 and June 2007 no account was taken
of potential share purchase options, as these
potential Ordinary Shares were not considered to be dilutive under the definitions of the
applicable accounting standards.



7 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS


Copies of the Annual Report & Accounts together with the notice and notes of the 2008 AGM
are expected to be issued to all shareholders
in due course.

The financial information set out above was approved by the Directors on 15 August 2008
and does not constitute the Company's statutory
accounts for the years ended 30 June 2008 or 30 June 2007. The auditors' opinion on the 2008
statutory accounts is unmodified and does not
include a statement under Section 237 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The statutory
accounts for 2007 have been filed and those for
2008 will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in due course.


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

FR EAAPSFFAPEFE

no

f'k me, did you have to quote the whole thing?

Anyway, profit down, expenses up, turnover down: no Petrov sale in this set of figures being the main difference????

No sharing of the Champs league market pool for the forthcoming season should see the figures rise again.

Good to see another, albeit smaller, profit though.

4.4Million profit.

Debt now down to 3.25 or 3.6mill cant quite remember.

Don't need to know much more than that.

Has anyone tried Reids phone number yet?

Tried it once, but the dirty Mac-wearing pirvurt started grunting and panting when I mentioned oil, fighting and money.

I'm Happy <