Rangers accounts: Why Ibrox club has lost £17m, big difference with Celtic and how figures can get better

While the Ibrox club can report some positives in terms of record core revenue of £88.3million, record total income of £94.2m and record commercial revenue of £67m, Rangers ultimately have made a £17.17m loss in that 12-month period, compared to 2022-23 period of just -£4.14m.

Those of a Rangers disposition will look enviously across the city at Celtic’s current financial health. The Parkhead side last month posted strong figures for the same period, making a £17.8m profit. While that was down from the previous year’s total of £40.7m, it shows the gulf between the two Glasgow entities.

Rangers, of course, have not had their troubles to seek of late off the pitch. They continue to operate without a chief executive after James Bisgrove’s departure in the summer - the club hopes to land his replacement sooner rather than later. Chairman John Bennett stood down on health grounds in September, with John Gilligan taking interim command of the club. Not to forget the delays to construction works on the Copland Stand at Ibrox, meaning a temporary flit to Hampden. None of this is covered in the just-released accounts.

Rangers are third in the Premiership and these figures landed a day before a key league clash at second-placed, unbeaten Aberdeen. Manager Philippe Clement is desperately trying to rejuvenate fortunes on the pitch.

The accounts lay bare some of the football failings of the past 12-18 months at Rangers. Within that 17m loss is a £7.9m deficit on player trading. While cash was made on the sales of Glen Kamara, Fashion Sakala and Antonio Colak, those fees were eclipsed by outlays on Cyriel Dessers, Danilo, Mohamed Diomande, Sam Lammers and Jose Cifuentes. The latter two are no longer at the club, while Dessers has become a marmite figure at Ibrox and Danilo’s time has been blighted by injury. Diomande’s arrival is deemed as a success.

Yet Rangers still need to get much better at player trading. There is no megabucks sale to rival ones such as Calvin Bassey to Ajax or Nathan Patterson to Everton. The team continues to lack tangible assets, a situation being addressed in the current transfer model under Nils Koppen. Rangers are identifying younger players with potential sell-on value, and hope starlets such as Diomande, Jefte and Hamza Igamane in time will provide that.

Unlike Celtic, Rangers have been starved of Champions League revenue for the past two seasons. Play-off round defeats by PSV in 2023 and Dynamo Kyiv this summer are damaging in that regard. While £17.35m was brought in for reaching the last 16 of the Europa League in the 2023/24 campaign, there is still a £25-30m gap in the sort of cash being opened up to Celtic for being in the group stages of Europe’s blue-riband tournament.

And also unlike Celtic, Rangers have dispensed with two management teams in the past two years, the most recent being Michael Beale and several of his coaching assistants back on October 1, 2023. Pay-offs for those staff members were significant.

Rangers have also made a one-off litigation payment, meaning the club is free of claims for first time in more than a decade.

Yet unless there is a significant external cash injection - and there was recent talk of whisky tycoon Billy Walker pumping in money - then Rangers need to get it right on the pitch to make sure their numbers are healthier off it. There is also an onus on director of football recruitment and board member Koppen to unearth gems.

In the immediate term, pressure comes from where the team currently lies in the Premiership. Six points behind joint leaders Celtic and Aberdeen, slipping up at Pittodrie - or indeed at Hampden on Sunday in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Motherwell - would be extremely costly. Every penny counts - and there is little in reserve to make another alteration in the dugout, despite some fans’ wishes. Cash and bank balances reserves sit at £1.76m, down from £5.33. Rangers keep needing to go back to the investor well.

Other figures to highlight include staff costs dropping slightly from £64m to £61m, while gate revenue has increased by £4m to £43.7m. Within the record total income of £94.2m was a covid insurance payout. In total, cost increases at Rangers were managed to just one per cent and the club continues to work within UEFA financial framework.

Regardless, Rangers continue to sit on a knife-edge as they play second fiddle to Celtic. What the latest finances show is that swift progress is required in all parts of Ibrox.