SCOTTISH FOOTBALL club Celtic accounted for almost 43 per cent of the combined turnover of the 12 Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs in 2007 following a bumper season on and off the pitch, according to a report published yesterday by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Celtic, which is controlled by multimillionaire Irish financier Dermot Desmond, enjoyed a record-breaking 2007, recording a pretax profit of £15 million (€18.5 million) on turnover of £75 million. These were record figures for an SPL club.

Celtic saw its revenues soar by 31 per cent, helped by winning a league and cup double and by a good run in the Uefa Champions League. Its strong financial performance in 2007 enabled it to trim its debts by £4.8 million to leave it owing £9.1 million by the end of the year.

By contrast, its big-city rival, Rangers, saw its revenue fall by 32 per cent to £41.7 million, due largely to the loss of merchandising revenues following a licensing deal with British sports retailer JJB.

The club made a loss of £6.3 million for the year and its net debt more than trebled to £16.5 million.

Overall, the 12 SPL clubs’ combined turnover rose by 3 per cent to £175 million last year. They produced an aggregate profit of £2.7 million. PwC said this was the first time the clubs produced a combined “real” profit since 1996.

Edinburgh club Heart of Midlothian recorded the biggest loss at £12.9 million. In all, four of the 12 clubs finished last year in the red.

PwC found that the combined wage bill rose by 7 per cent to £100 million. Celtic had the highest bill at £36.4 million, up 12 per cent on the previous year.

PwC said the increase in Celtic’s wages was due in part to bonus payments relating to the club’s successful year on the pitch.

Celtic’s wages as a percentage of turnover was an “extremely manageable” 48 per cent, the report said.