Profit at tech giant Apple’s main Irish subsidiary rose last year, new accounts show, as the company trimmed costs.
The accounts for the year ended September 30th, 2023 indicated revenue at Apple Operations International, which is registered to the Apple campus in Holyhill, Co Cork, fell 1.8 per cent to $218.9 billion (€203 billion) from $222.8 billion (€206.4 billion) a year earlier. Pretax income was $71.1 billion (€65.8 billion), compared with $69 billion (€64 billion) in the prior year.
Net income for the year was $62.3 billion (€57.7 billion), up from $58.2 billion (€53.9 billion) in 2022.
Apple Operations International covers most of Apple’s non-US subsidiaries, and is responsible for everything from iPhones and Macs to wearables and services. The total cost of staff remuneration was $6.7 billion (€6.2 billion) including share-based compensation, with salaries accounting for more than $4 billion (€3.7 billion).
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It employs almost 60,000 people worldwide, with more than 6,000 in Ireland, including in manufacturing, logistics, finance, sales and customer care. In 2019, the company established an artificial intelligence/machine learning team in Cork and in 2022 it opened its first European engineering and test facility at the Holyhill site to test and analyse Apple products for the whole of Europe.
The 2023 accounts showed a provision of $8.8 billion (€8.2 billion) for taxation, down from $11.08 billion (€10.2 billion) in 2022, with corporation tax of 12.5 per cent and a charge of $8.9 billion (€8.2 billion) largely in line with last year. It also indicated a gain of more than $1 billion (€926 million) due to uncertain tax positions.
The amount Apple invested in research and development last year also rose, reaching $17.4 billion (€16.1 billion) for the year, compared with $15.5 billion (€14.4 billion) in 2022.
The accounts also show Apple’s Irish subsidiary paid dividends of $92.9 billion (€86 billion) to its parent company. Although that was far lower than in the previous year, when it paid $20.7 billion (€19.2 billion), and the $25.3 billion (€23.4 billion) it paid in 2021, it was in line with years such as 2020 when Apple Operations International paid an $81.5 billion (€75.5 billion) dividend.
The accounts also noted the ongoing legal action with European authorities over claims of State aid in Ireland. The tech giant has been in a high-profile battle with the European Commission over a 2016 decision that Apple owed billions in back taxes.
The recovery amount was deemed to be €13.1 billion, plus €1.2 billion in interest. that decision was appealed by both Apple and the Irish Government, with the General Court annulling the decision on State aid. The commission is currently appealing the decision to the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court.
The accounts noted the current recovery amount now stands at €12.7 billion, excluding interest, which is held in an escrow account until the final decision has been reached. That is expected in the coming weeks, but a key adviser to the European Court of Justice last November recommended the court set aside the 2020 ruling, dealing a blow to Apple and the Irish Government’s hopes.
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