Italian champions Juventus saw profits fall by almost two-thirds in their last financial year as the impact of Zinedine Zidane's world record $66 million transfer to Real Madrid slipped out of the accounts.

Juve posted full-year net profit of 2.2 million euros ($2.49 million), down from 6.1 million a year earlier when results were inflated by the transfer income from selling Zidane in 2001.

The club said in a statement on Tuesday that it booked earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 16.3 million euros in the year to June 30 from a core loss of 12.8 million euros the year before.

Juventus, Italy's most successful team after winning 27 domestic league titles, said revenues rose 22.9 percent to 215.4 million euros, thanks to higher sponsorship fees, Champions League winnings and television rights.

The latter includes 74.9 million euros from a deal for new channel Sky Italia to broadcast the 2004-05 soccer season.

The Serie A club lost an all-Italian Champions League final 3-2 on penalties to AC Milan earlier this year after being eliminated following the second group stage the previous season.

At 1454 GMT shares in Juventus, controlled by the Fiat-founding Agnelli family via its Ifil holding, were trading 1.22 percent higher at 1.91 euros.

In another statement on its website, Juventus said it had named the Agnellis' lawyer Franco Grande Stevens as the club's new president to replace Vittorio Chiusano, who died last month.

Juventus is one of the few Italian clubs to remain in the black as some of the most glamorous sides in European football face the consequences of chronic overspending on player wages.

Business daily Il Sole 24 Ore said on Tuesday Italian clubs had a total of 500 million euros of debt at the end of June.

Juventus said its net financial position was positive to the tune of 69.2 million euros at the end of June and said its debt-to-net assets ratio was "insignificant".

The Turin-based club said it had not used a new government decree that allows clubs to spread the cost of signings over 10 years instead of three, the so-called "Save Soccer" rule.

"By not benefiting from the positive impact that would have come from (the rule) we are avoiding postponing into the medium term costs that... our accounts are capable of absorbing in the short term," chief executive Antonio Giraudo said.

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