2FM presenter hits all the right notes as firm records 32% rise in profits

Profits at the firm operated by 2FM presenter Colm Hayes last year increased by 32% to €54,716, new figures show.

According to accounts just filed by the presenter’s firm, Colm Hayes Media Services Ltd, with the Companies Office, pre-tax profits rose from €41,356 to €54,716 in the 12 months to the end of December last.

This year’s JNLR figures confirm the Dublin man presents one of the top-rated shows on 2FM with 135,000 listeners, second only to Ryan Tubridy.

Hayes trails Tubridy by 17,000 listeners and is placed ahead of Dave Fanning on a Saturday, and Breakfast with Hector which has 124,000 listeners.

The abridged figures show that Hayes’s firm was sitting on accumulated profits of €131,763 at the end of last year.

Hayes pay at RTÉ came under the spotlight after figures published in 2011 in relation to its 2009 top earners revealed that Colm Hayes Media Services Ltd received €213,954 in fees. Mr Hayes said subsequently he has taken significant cuts in pay.

Hayes — whose real name is Colm Caffrey — got the mid-morning slot after impressing RTÉ executives when broadcasting in that slot with Lucy Kennedy following the death of Gerry Ryan in 2010.

After Colm Hayes’ 2009 remuneration was revealed, his former radio partner, JimJim Nugent revealed he was on less than half the wages of his 2FM partner.

JimJim said at the time: “RTE gave me the impression that we were on very similar wages, but I was paid less — significantly less.”

The accounts reveal that the Colm Hayes Media Services Ltd had an investment of €65,000 in Red FM at the end of last year. The company paid corporation tax of €7,127 during 2012.