Telecommunications company Virgin Media Ireland cut its losses by 39 per cent last year but still racked up a deficit of more than €17.5 million, the group’s latest accounts show.
The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of VMIE Group Holdings, which, together with its subsidiaries are collectively referred to as Virgin Media Ireland, which is in turn a wholly-owned subsidiary of billionaire John Malone’s cable group Liberty Global.
The company made a loss after tax of €17,589,000 in 2024, which was down from €29,054,000 in 2023. The group saw customer numbers drop by almost 10,500 to 462,279.
Revenue fell 3.5 per cent from €379.9 million to €366.7 million. Most of the loss came from a drop in residential revenue from €300.1 million to €287.2 million. Business revenue rose marginally to almost €39 million, while mobile revenue was down from €41.3 million to €40.5 million.
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The company had net current liabilities of €228.7 million, up from €156.3 million the year before. Capital expenditure was down from €116.8 million to €93 million.
Cost of sales was €66.4 million, down from €74.9 million, while other operating expenses climbed from €248.9 million to €257.6 million. The directors did recommend payment of a dividend.
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Virgin Media Ireland employed 681 people in the year, which represented a reduction of 13 in headcount. The company spent €51.7 million on staff, which was down from €57.9 million the year before.
Separately, a fall in promotions and sponsorships led to a decline in revenues at Virgin Media Television in 2024, a year in which the broadcaster’s managing director said “difficult decisions” had to be made due to a “challenging” advertising market.
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Accounts filed on Thursday by the company behind the Virgin Media One channel reveal turnover fell by 1.6 per cent to €58.2 million last year.
Separate accounts for Channel 6 broadcasting, the company behind the Virgin Media Two channel, revealed an 11.1 per cent dip in revenues last year to €12.6 million.
The decline was “primarily due to a decrease in spot advertising booked through advertising agencies”, the directors said in a report attached to the accounts.
