A LIVE Nation subsidiary which co-owns the Dublin entertainment venue the O2 has reported a pre- tax profit of £5.8 million (€6.75 million) for last year.

Accounts recently filed with the Companies Office show that turnover at the British group Apollo Leisure – part of the world’s largest live entertainment group Live Nation – totalled £16.5 million in 2010. This income was derived from operating music venues in Britain and Ireland.

Turnover figures for Amphitheatre Ireland, which operates the O2, are not separately available as the company’s results are consolidated into filings by Apollo Leisure. The most recent accounts for Amphitheatre Ireland showed an after- tax profit of € 7.15 million in 2009, its first full year of operation.

The O2 is jointly owned by Amphitheatre Ireland and Dublin businessman Harry Crosbie.

Separate figures provided by US-based music industry journal Pollstar confirm that more than 665,000 music fans paid to attend 103 gigs at the O2 last year.

Figures provided by Pollstar show that the events grossed €40.8 million in box office receipts that are shared between the artist, promoter and venue.

The figures by Pollstar, from data provided by the O2, show that the highest-grossing run was for Lady Gaga’s three shows in October last year, where 37,676 fans paid €2.89 million to see the international superstar.

Other top-grossing gigs include the 13-show run of the Queen musical We Will Rock Youthat generated €2.77 million at the box office in January, while Whitney Houston grossed €2.62 million from her three-night run.

Other artists to perform at the O2 last year include Sting, Rod Stewart, Rihanna and Stevie Wonder.