Quinn broadband firm to turn profit

Former Republic of Ireland international, Niall Quinn said yesterday that he is pretty certain that his satellite broadband firm will record an annual profit for the first time this year.

The Dubliner was commenting yesterday on new accounts just lodged with the Companies Office by Alphasat Communications Ltd which show that the firm’s accumulated losses jumped by over €2.159m to €3.3m at the end of 2012.

The firm’s shareholder deficit stood at €2.62m at the end of the year.

The accounts show that Quinn’s media firm, that generated its revenues through the ex-pro’s work with Sky, continued to support Alphasat, trading as Q-sat, in 2012.

Niall Quinn Media Services Ltd advanced a further €454,123 to the firm in 2012 after advancing €€780,249 in 2011, bringing the total to €1.234m. At the end of 2012, Alphasat had paid back €934,000.

The balance owing to Quinn’s media firm was €300,372 at the end of 2012, while it is understood that Quinn has ploughed around €1m of his money into Alphasat to date.

Mr Quinn said: “We had two very tough years, but last November was a turning point when we hit profit for the first time.”

He said that he was “pretty certain that the business will record a decent profit in 2014”. He said the 2012 accounts “reflect the tail-end of the initial investment in the firm”.

Mr Quinn said the first two years of the business “were tough because we were trying to get people to believe in the product”.

The firm employs 16 people and revenues are expected to hit €2.5m in 2014.

Mr Quinn said Q-sat customer numbers were now “not far off 7,000”.