Music sales by Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Westlife last year helped the Irish arm of music giant, Warner Music record pretax profits of €1.38 million.
Profits were down at Warner Music Ireland Ltd despite an 11 per cent rise in sales to €15.37 million in the year to the end of last September, according to newly-filed accounts.
Higher costs were blamed for the 23 per cent slide in earnings. Distribution and promotion costs rose by 30 per cent from €761,165 to €993,780 as the cost of sales rose 15 per cent to €11.63 million, with administrative expenses also rising, by 11 per cent, to €1.76 million.
After paying corporation tax of €204,387, the company recorded net profits of €1.18 million.
The directors said the increase in revenues was “largely due to the growth of music streaming”, a trend they believe the company “will continue to grow further”.
Other Irish artists signed up to Warner Music include Damien Rice and Enya.
The accounts disclose that €382,075 was paid out in directors’ remuneration under the heading of “compensation for loss of office”. The accounts don’t disclose which director(s) the payout relates to or how many directors received the payment.
In January last year, Peter Breeden stepped down from the board while the accounts also show that, post year-end, Patrick Creed resigned in November.
Apart from compensation for loss of office, directors’ remuneration last year totalled €373,220.
Numbers employed by the company remained steady at 12, with staff costs increasing by 8 per cent to €1.06 million.
The directors say that the business “is embracing the spectrum of opportunities presented by digital technology to deepen the connection between fans and artists”.
“Creating and developing new business models to accelerate its business transformation remains a top strategic objective,” they added.
