Dot.ie domain registrations rise

REGISTRATIONS for dot.ie online domain addresses showed a net increase of 26.8% last year, according to the IE Domain Registry (IEDR).

While growth was slightly slower than the previous year, last year did follow on from record growth in 2007 when registrations shot up by 41% and the IEDR recorded a record surplus of €523,000.

For 2008, IEDR turnover was up by 7.4% at €2.5m and an operating surplus of €373,940 was recorded by the not-for-profit organisation — this year celebrating a decade of independence from previous owners, the Government and University College Dublin.

However, that surplus technically translates into an after-tax loss of €222,493 for the year after a write-off of nearly €585,000 due to de-valued investments made by the company, using surplus cash, into various financial options such as managed funds, conversion funds and Irish property funds.

However, the company said that despite this provision, its members’ funds still totalled €1.8m as of the end of last year, meaning that the organisation remains “financially well resourced”.

“The registry remains on a sound financial footing with over €3m in cash and investments, which means that we are in a position to further invest in new services and in infrastructural improvements for greater security, stability and resilience of the dot.ie namespace,” said IEDR chief executive David Curtin.

The dot ie domain channel retained its market leading position here last year — down, year-on-year, by less than 1% at 36.7%. The dot.com channel holds a 28% share of the Irish market with the dot.eu domain rising fastest by going from 11% of the market to 18% over the course of last year.

IEDR management said yesterday that a hugely pleasing aspect is that registration figures have continued to rise into this year, despite the downturn.

Indeed, the first two quarters of 2009 have each seen registration levels (either new registrations or companies renewing their existing subscriptions) comfortably exceed the 9,000 mark — the first three months of the year actually coming close to the 10,000 mark.

In terms of dot.ie domain prices, last year saw a reduction of 20%, while prices have been lowered by a further 10% this year — the sixth consecutive year of a price drop.