'Significant growth' in digital revenues at News Corp Irish radio group
Significant growth in digital revenues last year helped to deliver a €968,000 increase in overall revenues to €23.37m at the radio group which operates Cork's 96FM and FM104 in Dublin.
New accounts filed by the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wireless Radio (ROI) Ltd show that the increase in revenues to €23.37m coincided with pre-tax losses narrowing slightly from €2.78m to €2.74m in the 12 months to the end of June 30 last.
The directors state that "digital revenues in particular delivered significant growth in the period and we continue to invest in this area to promote future growth".
The group also owns Limerick's Live 95Fm and Q102 in Dublin and the accounts show that group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased slightly from €2.7m to €2.73m.
The directors state that the impact of the increased revenue in the year on EBITDA has been offset by an increase in the operating costs during the year.
The US-headquartered News Corporation owned group - which also operates LMFM - last year recorded post tax losses of €1.16m after recording a corporation tax credit of €1.58m.
The directors' report states that "throughout the financial year the directors have continued to monitor the impact of the increased cost of living crisis along with other ongoing economic conditions".
They state that the company "has continued to operate successfully through these issues and will continue to meet further challenges head on".
The directors state that the group's local stations "deliver significant listenership in their respective franchise areas and combine to offer a quasi national urban targeted commercial proposition".
They also state that "economic conditions were difficult during the period, compounded by the war in Ukraine and the ongoing challenges of spiralling cost of living increases".
"In spite of these challenges however, the company continues to benefit from improving revenue performance and we commend the hard work and dedication of our loyal staff base throughout the period under review," they add.
Numbers employed by the group last year increased from 225 to 235 as staff costs decreased from €11.81m to €11.62m.
Directors' pay totalled €271,000.
The group's combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs last year totalled €5.47m. The group's operating lease costs totalled €998,000.
At the end of June last, the group had a shareholders' deficit of €11.79m.
This was made up of accumulated losses of €55.36m offset by share capital of €43.56m The group's cash increased from €1.45m to €1.83m.
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