Scottish Premiership side Celtic announced a net profit of £15.2M ($19.5M) for the first half of the season, despite a 30% fall in revenue. The decrease was "chiefly due" to the club's failure to qualify for the Champions League group stage. But the £19.7M sale of Moussa Dembele to Olympique Lyonnais in August "ensured a surplus" of £17.6M in the transfer market. Profit from trading fell from £23.7M to £6.2M compared with the same six-month period in '17 (BBC, 2/12).
Asics America Group, which includes the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Latin America, saw fourth-quarter growth on brand-owned sites and at key retail accounts driven by the announcement of performance footwear models. In fourth quarter of '18, the brand saw a 58% growth in e-commerce sales since the last quarter (Asics America).
A venture including the company of the Turkish Football Federation's chair "made the best bid in the tender" to operate Turkey's only legal sports betting company, Iddaa, broadcaster NTV said. The Sans Girisim venture of Demiroren and U.S. firm Scientific Games reportedly made an offer to take 0.2% of revenues under the revenue-sharing scheme, "revising down their previous bid" of 2.1% (REUTERS, 2/13).
