Irish subsidiary of Adobe made profit of $531m in 2010

AN IRISH subsidiary of the successful Adobe software group had a turnover of $2 billion (€1.48 billion) last year and made a pre-tax profit of $531 million, according to recently-filed consolidated accounts for it and its mainly foreign subsidiaries.

However, because the company and its subsidiaries paid more than $47 million in irrecoverable withholding tax and foreign corporation tax, it paid only $2.47 million in corporation tax here.

The Dublin-based company paid a dividend of $700 million to its US parent.

Adobe Software Trading Company Ltd is the intermediary holding company for Adobe subsidiaries in Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific region, although it also has subsidiaries in Boston and Toronto. The parent company of the Adobe group is based in California.

According to the company’s accounts, revenue increased by 25 per cent during the 2010 period. (The accounts are for a 53-week period as against the previous year’s 52 weeks.)

The revenue increase was due to improvements in the international economic environment and new product releases, the accounts stated.

The accounts also said the operating margin for the business fell to 25 per cent from 35 per cent a year earlier.

The company and its subsidiaries employed 1,542 people during 2010, at a cost of $341 million. However, the bulk of these were outside Ireland.

The accounts of the main Irish subsidiary, Adobe Systems Software Ireland Ltd, show it had 102 staff, who cost the company $12 million. This company is involved in the licensing and distribution of the group’s software outside North America.

Despite having just 102 staff, Adobe Systems Software Ireland booked $1.9 billion of the $2.04 billion in turnover recorded by its Irish parent in the consolidated accounts. However its profits were just $45.7 million of the $531 million booked by its Irish parent.

Adobe Software Trading Company Ltd is based in the Citywest Business Campus, Dublin. Its solicitors are Matheson Ormsby Prentice and its auditors are KPMG, Dublin.

Its bankers are the Cayman Bank, Bank of NT Butterfield Son, and Bank of America in London.

The group has subsidiaries around the globe and branches in Singapore, Dubai, Poland, Russia, Finland, Austria and China. The Dublin holding company had shareholders’ funds of $2.14 billion at year’s end.