HMV closure drags Universal into red in Ireland

The closure of HMV’s store network helped drag the Irish arm of music label Universal into the red last year.

Newly-filed accounts for Universal Music Ireland — which has the likes of U2, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and Lionel Richie on its roster — show the company plunged into the red with pre-tax losses of €642,304 last year. It had generated a pre-tax profit of €1.6m in 2015.

Revenues last year fell by 17% to €10.9m, hurt by plunging sales of CDs which halved to €3m. Management said a primary cause for the revenue decline was “a major customer” (understood to be HMV) “ceasing to trade in the Republic”.