Broadcaster Anton Savage, Terry Prone, and other directors share €909,125 in pay from PR firm
Anton Savage had a share of €909,125 in pay and pension contributions last year.
Newstalk broadcaster Anton Savage, his mother Terry Prone, and two other directors at The Communications Clinic — the Dublin-based public relations firm — shared a total of €909,125 in pay and pension contributions last year.
New accounts show Mr Savage, managing director Eoghan Tomás McDermott, Daragh O’Shaughnessy, and Terry Prone, who is also a columnist with the , shared €882,925 in pay and an additional €26,200 in pension contributions.
The aggregate pay to directors represent a 16% increase on the total amount in pay and pension contributions of €778,679 the directors received in the previous financial year.
The firm, which counts golfing superstar Rory McIlroy as a client, posted a modest profit of €6,130 for the 12 months to the end of March last year, according to the accounts.
That compares with a profit of €5,724 in the previous financial year.
At the end of March last year, The Communications Clinic posted accumulated profits of €932,136.
Other clients have included the public agency Uisce Éireann, the aircraft leasing giant AerCap, retail group Primark, Bank of Ireland, as well as AIB, according to the firm's website.
The company’s cash funds declined slightly during the year to just over €1m from about €1.1m.
Asked to comment on the firm’s financial performance, Mr McDermott said 2023 had been a good year for the business.
"We developed an online suite of training products during covid. They now complement our one-to-one and group training, which has returned to pre-covid levels. That additional offering has seen our training business double in size, a growth that was driven by both private and public sector clients," Mr McDermott said.
"Our largest training contract in 2023 saw us train more than 4,000 individuals, with the programmes running a ‘would recommend to a colleague’ rate north of 98%," he said.
Mr McDermott, who took over as managing director in 2018, said The Communications Clinic had expanded both its training and advisory, and now directly employs 21 people.
"Our job-interview preparation service continues to grow as the job market becomes more competitive,” he said.
Mr McDermott said the firm continues its long-standing relationship with Rory McIlroy Incorporated.
The company had also "expanded our partnership with Trinity College's Business School, and we were recently appointed as advisers to a major public works project of national significance”, he claimed.
Mr McDermott said he was optimistic for business in the coming year.
The firm's profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €14,364 and a loss of €10,451 on the disposal of an asset.
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