Daft Media pre-tax profits rise to €2.4m

PRE-TAX profits at online media group Daft Media Ltd last year rose 12% to €2.4 million, the company’s latest filed accounts show.

Set up in 1997 by brothers Eamon and Brian Fallon, the group operates the country’s largest property website, daft.ie and runs discussion form website boards.ie along with adverts.ie.

Revenues at the group increased marginally from €6.12m to €6.17m in the 12 months to the end of December last. The filings confirm that group last year paid a dividend of €2.9m.

The company’s operating profit last year dropped 11% from €2.75m to €2.43m. However, the group took a writedown of €428,000 in its investment in boards.ie ltd and €180,000 in Adverts Marketplace Ltd in 2009 and no impairment was recorded in 2010 resulting in the increase in pre-tax profits last year. At the end of last year, the group had shareholder funds totalling €3.2m that included accumulated profits of €2.8m. The accounts reveal boards.ie recorded a loss of €88,274 last year.

The filings state that during 2010, Daft Media Ltd acquired a further 70 ordinary shares in board.ie for €542,500 increasing its shareholding to 83.3% — this brings Daft Media Ltd’s investment in the company to €3.1m.

The accounts also reveal that the group acquired a further 8.027 ordinary shares in Adverts Marketplace Ltd for €240,810 increasing its shareholding to 68%.

The figures show that the numbers employed by Daft Media Ltd rose 30% last year going from 26 to 34 with staff costs increasing from €1.97m to €2.24m. Staff costs includes remuneration to directors and they show that directors received €217,500 for management services and €120,000 for consultancy services.