Scottish Premier League champions Rangers, who currently face a debt of more than £30 million, have been handed a huge boost after half-year profits of more than £13 million were announced.

The profits are mainly thanks to reduced operating costs, which dropped by £3.6 million to £21 million - a figure that includes Rangers players' salaries - and involvement in the Uefa Champions League group stage.

The 5-1 aggregate defeat of Rangers' great rivals Celtic to English club Arsenal in the Uefa Champions League qualifying stages saw Rangers handed Uefa's entire Scottish Champions League budget. It meant Rangers received the entire £6.15 million amount allocated by Uefa to Scottish teams in the Champions League group stages.

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As champions, Rangers were already guaranteed more than £3 million of that fund, but Celtic's exit saw almost £3 million earmarked for the Bhoys instead go to their cross-city rivals. A qualification bonus of around £2.5 million, as well as further guaranteed payments of £2.1 million for the six group games, meant Rangers were guaranteed some £10.6 million from the competition, despite their poor performance in the group stage before even kicking a ball - again underlining the financial importance of the competition to Europe's top clubs.