CELTIC, the football club in Glasgow in which financier Dermot Desmond has an estimated 14 per cent shareholding, has reported excellent financial results for the half-year to the end of December, with turnover up 46 per cent to £12.5 million sterling and pre-tax profits doubling to over £2 million.

But Celtic's 10,000 shareholders are to receive no dividend despite the improved financial performance, with the chairman Mr Fergus McCann stating that the club's policy is reinvest profits to improve the playing squad and the Celtic Park stadium.

Ticket sales showed a dramatic 46 per cent increase, and with an average league attendance of 48,335, Celtic is currently the best-supported team in Scotland and among the top 10 in Europe, Mr McCann states. He adds that as most of Celtic's home games are in the first half of the financial year, income in the second half will be lower.

The only part of Celtic's income that remained static was broadcasting fees, "reflecting the fact that current television contracts do not match the value of the Celtic product nationally".

Celtic is to begin construction of a new retail megastore at Celtic Park in the next few months in an effort to improve service and meet demand. According to Mr McCann, this should increase the sales of Celtic replica kits within the club's own shops and adds: "Presently too high a proportion is handled through other retailers."

The chairman adds that Celtic remains under continuous pressure to increase players' salaries. The half-year report does not, however, include a figure for player salaries.

And, following the Bosman ruling, Celtic has adopted a policy where the value of player registrations is written down over the period of each player's current contract. This has resulted in a £1.7 million charge in the period, compared to a charge of £902,000 in the first half of the previous year.