Connacht Tribune Media Group in the red with loss of €250,000

The company that operates the Connacht Tribune Media Group slipped into the red last year to record a loss of almost €250,000.

The group publishes the Galway city-based Connacht and City Tribune newspapers along with the Connacht Sentinel and also owns Galway Bay FM.

Accounts just filed with the Companies Office show that the group recorded a loss of €243,881 in the 12 months to the end of March last following a €1.54 million profit in 2010.

The chief factor behind the loss was a much smaller dividend received from subsidiary company, Western Community Broadcasting Services Ltd (WCBSL) that operates Galway Bay FM.

Last year, WCBSL paid a €505,000 dividend to the Connacht Tribune compared with a dividend of €2.65m in 2010.

The figures show that operating losses at the Connacht Tribune Ltd nearly halved last year going from €859,472 to €481,582.

The abridged accounts do not provide a turnover figure and they show the firm recorded a gross profit of €3.2m compared with €3.4m in 2010.

The Connacht Tribune is one of the few remaining independently-owned regional titles operating and the filings show that administrative expenses decreasing from €4m to €3.54m was the main factor behind the drop in operating losses.

Interest payments totalling €242,083 added to the company’s losses along with exceptional costs of €36,382 comprising “of costs arising from the continuing savings being sought in the area of payroll costs” added to the company’s losses. The loss last year takes account of €267,854 in non-cash depreciation cost.

At the end of March last, The Connacht Tribune Ltd had €7m in accumulated profits. Its total shareholder funds stood at €17.4m.

The accounts show that the directors’ fees dropped from €132,000 to €118,000 last year. No figure relating to staff costs is provided.

The directors state that they “are satisfied based on the continued support from its wholly-owned subsidiary, WCBSL, that the company will have sufficient funds to finance its operations. Accordingly, the accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis”.

The company had loans totalling €9.3m that included a bank term loan of €6m and a €3.2m loan from a group company that was unsecured and interest free.

Along with operating three newspapers including the Connacht Sentinel, the Connacht Tribune purchased local radio station, Galway Bay FM in 2006.