Rooney firm hit by €1m losses

FRAN Rooney’s latest venture Vimio has reported its first financial results since listing on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in September.

Vimio, which develops software to allows television and music to be played over mobile phones, lost over €1 million in the six months to end September.

But Mr Rooney, the former Baltimore Technologies and the Football Association of Ireland chief executive, said the company has made substantial progress.

“This figure reflects increased expenditure on product development and the expansion of our core team. The group has a healthy cash position and we continue to manage our resources tightly,” he said.

The listing on AIM raised €8.2m in fresh funding for the Dublin-based company.

Sales for the six months were €214,000. The loss for the period is equivalent to 4.8 cents per share.

Since the half-year end, Vimio has a signed an agreement with Samsung, which will see its technology used on Samsung phones. Vimio will receive a royalty payment for every handset manufactured with its software.

“It is our considered view that advanced mobile entertainment services will achieve mass market acceptance over the next 12-18 months, as evidenced by the recent growth in sales of advanced mobile handsets throughout the world. In addition, the drive by network operators to increase revenue per subscriber creates significant opportunities for our business,” Mr Rooney said.

Shares in Vimio closed up 1% at £1.59 (€2.34). They have gained 59% since listing on AIM in September.