Highly regarded, though always in the red (7)
I believe the answer is:
revered
'highly regarded' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'always in the red' is the wordplay.
'always' becomes 'ever' (synonyms).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'ever' placed within 'red' is 'REVERED'.
'though' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for revered that I've seen before include "worshipped" , "Highly respected" , "Held in awe" , "Venerated" , "Idolised" .)