AN IRISH-registered holding company for US software giant Adobe last year was used to book $599.5 million or 85 per cent of Adobe’s global pretax profits in 2009 of $701 million.
Adobe Software Trading – with an address at Citywest in Dublin – also accounted for 59 per cent of its worldwide revenues of $2.94 billion. It paid a dividend of $700 million (€521.7 million) to its Californian-based parent last year.
The details are revealed in accounts recently filed by Adobe Software Trading Company Ltd to the Companies Office.
Adobe Software Trading is the intermediary holding company for Adobe’s subsidiaries based in Europe, Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions.
Adobe Software Trading’s pretax profits dropped by 19 per cent from $742.5 million to $599.5 million in the 12 months to the end of November 27th last year. Revenues fell from $2 billion to $1.6 billion.
The principal activity of the holding company is RD activities, and the licensing, production and distribution of computer software for markets outside of the US, Canada and Mexico.
The $700 million payout leaves $1.28 billion in accumulated profits at the Irish holding firm.
Adobe Software Trading last year paid $39 million in Irish taxes following a tax payout of $23.6 million in 2008.
The company’s directors state that the drop in turnover at the Irish-based unit was “as a result of the global downturn”, but said they “are satisfied with the results of the group for the period”.
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