Irish Daily Mail parent records profit of almost €1.2m

The company behind the Irish Daily Mail and its sister title, the Irish Mail on Sunday, made a pre-tax profit of almost €1.2 million in the year to the end of September 2018, its latest accounts show.

Revenues at Associated Newspapers (Ireland) Limited rose 2.45 per cent to €16.2 million, while its pre-tax profit climbed 22 per cent to €1.18 million.

Its net profit was up by a more modest 9 per cent to just above €1 million as the company paid more tax compared to the previous period.

The publisher has since embarked on a restructuring process that saw 40 employees leave the company, its accounts state. The cutbacks earlier this year – a mix of voluntary and compulsory redundancies – were attributed to falling newspaper sales and declining advertising revenue.

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Risks

Staff costs rose 2.5 per cent to €11.1 million in the year to September, a period in which it employed 147 people on a full-time equivalent basis.

In a note accompanying the accounts, the directors identified the risks and uncertainties facing the business as “those typical of the newspaper publication sector”, including the “further decline of print media in favour of digital”.

It said these risks were mitigated by “the company’s historical financial security, long-standing reputation and tradition within the sector”.

The company also publishes the digital titles Extra.ie and Evoke.ie. It purchased the parenting website Rollercoaster.ie earlier this year.

No dividend was paid to its parent, the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), a publicly quoted London-based group ultimately controlled by media baron Viscount Rothermere. The Irish titles are run by its news division, DMG Media.