Rangers upbeat on debt plan

The Rangers chairman, John McClelland, is confident the club is on course to reduce debt as planned after unaudited interim results yesterday showed a £7.5m increase in turnover during the last six months of 2003.

The improved figures were largely due to increased revenue from Rangers reaching the group stages of the Champions' League, but McClelland believes his decision to introduce a three-year plan to reduce the club's £68m debt is starting to pay off.

"Turnover for the six-month period to 31 December 2003 was £33,764,000, an increase of £7,523,000 on the same period to 31 December 2002," he said. "This increase of 29 per cent can be attributed to two main factors, the beneficial impact Champions' League football has had on our ticket, commercial and sponsorship income, and the continuing strength of our retail operations.

"The combination of increased revenue and reduced operating expenses has resulted in a profit before interest and tax of £4,229,000, an improvement of £12,469,000 against the corresponding period last year."

McCelland said interest payments of £1,778,000 were comparable to those for the previous period, which resulted in a retained profit of £2,451,000 for the six-month period to 31 December 2003. He added: "The positive results for this period provide encouraging evidence that our business plan is being effectively executed. No one at the club is, however, complacent about the need to pursue the completion of our three-year transition plan."