Losses double at music arm of Sony

Hits by One Direction and Taylor Swift were not enough to prevent losses at the Irish arm of music giant Sony more than doubling last year.

New accounts show that operating losses at Sony Music Entertainment Ireland Ltd more than doubled from €429,000 to €862,000 in the 12 months to the end of March last. Revenues fell 14%, from €8.68m to €7.49m.

Pre-tax losses increased even more sharply, from €31,000 to €776,000, after net interest income of €398,000 recorded in 2011 plummeted to €86,000 last year.