Profits at Daily Mail publishers fall

PRE-tax profits at the publishers of the Irish Daily Mail and Irish Mail on Sunday newspaper titles in Ireland fell slightly last year from €900,398 to €868,139.

This is the second year in a row Associated Newspapers (Ireland) Limited made a profit and reduced retained losses at the company to €66.8 million at the end of the company’s financial year, September 28, 2008, according to accounts filed with the company’s office.

Auditors Deloitte said liabilities exceed the assets of the company, as stated in the balance sheet, resulting in a situation which may require the convening of an extraordinary general meeting of the company.

The directors acknowledged that it is conscious of the need for continued financial support from its parent, the Daily Mail and General Trust, in order to continue as a going concern.

The accounts were prepared on a going concern basis as the parent company had “agreed to provide support to the company”.

The Daily Mail and General Trust reported a loss of £239m (€278.62m) for the six months to March of this year.

The directors of Associated Newspapers (Ireland) Limited did not recommend the payment of a dividend.

Turnover at the company remained almost static, increasing slightly to €18.95m for 2008.

Staff numbers at the company increased from 82 to 102 with staff costs rising to €7.7m, up from €6.6m in 2007.

The directors stated that they regard the ultimate parent company as Rothermere Continuation Limited, incorporated in Bermuda.