DoneDeal operator saw surge in profits as revenues increased to €36.67m 

With the demand for cash so high, many have taken to sites like DoneDeal and Adverts to sell their unwanted vouchers.

A company owned by founders of daft.ie Eamonn and Brian Fallon last year shared a pre-tax dividend of €7.44m.

The dividend payout of €7.44m to the Fallons’ DML Capital Ltd was part of an overall €19.49m dividend paid out to shareholders by Distilled Ltd which operates adverts.ie, daft.ie, gumtree.ie and donedeal.ie.

The group made the payout last year as the Distilled group’s pre-tax profits increased by 13% to €9.49m.

New accounts filed by Distilled Ltd show the online business’ revenues increased by 9% from €33.76m to €36.67m in 2022.

The pre-tax profits of €8.4m in 2021. Daft.ie was established in 1997 by Eamonn and Brian Fallon, and they own DML Capital Ltd on a 50/50 basis. The dividend payout of €7.44m to the Fallons’ DML Capital follows the company receiving a dividend of €5.87m in 2021.

Distilled Ltd was only established in 2015 after daft.ie operations and that of sister company, adverts.ie were merged with Norway-based Schibsted Media’s Donedeal.ie The deal provided Distilled and Schibsted with a 50% shareholding each.

The dividend payout of €19.49m followed a dividend payout of €15.37m in 2021.

Details of the dividend payouts show Norwegian-owned Adevinta Classified Media Ireland Ltd received dividends of €9.7m in 2022.

Also included in the payout was a €1.94m paid out to directors of Distilled Ltd while TNK Associates received €343,728, and ‘A’ ordinary shareholders received a modest dividend of €40,561.

A statement from Distilled says adverts.ie recorded a 34% growth increase in ads compared to pre-covid levels. adverts.ie has continued to steadily add over 250,000 new ads every month.

Distilled also state that daft.ie recorded a “robust 7% year-on-year increase” in residential property sales volumes in 2022 versus 2021, helped by growth in new home completions.