Newspaper reports profits of €1.5m

The publishers of the Irish Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers (Ireland), have reported profits of €1.5m for last year.

The company’s financial statement to the end of Sept 2012 showed that the Irish operation of the Daily Mail had recorded a profit of €1,547,166 according to documents filed with the Companies Registration Office (CRO)

The reported profit grew by almost €200,000 from the previous year, when the newspaper had reported a profit of €1,358,934.

The company’s turnover had actually fallen from €19.39m in 2011 to €19.23m last year but a fall in costs and overheads of €400,000 saw the company’s profits rise.

A note on the documents filed with the CRO show that Associated Newspapers Ireland has “unrelieved trading losses of €53m.” The debt has fallen since last year when it was recorded as €55m.

The accounts also reveal that the Associated Newspapers Ireland has received a €12.2m interest-free loan from its parent company and that there is no repayment date on this loan.

The company maintained the number of employees at 147 but the four directors in the company, Eric Bailey, Brian Wright, Paul Henderson, and Anthony Guy Zitter all saw their salaries fall by €59,809.

In 2011, the directors were paid €458,000 which fell to €398,000 last year according to a report on directors emoluments.

The company is ultimately owned and controlled by a Bermuda- based company, Rothermere Continuation Limited.

The filing to the CRO state that the ultimate controlling party is Viscount Rothermere. Jonathan Harmsworth is currently the 4th viscount of Rothermere.