PRETAX LOSSES at commercial radio giant Communicorp grew more than threefold last year to €5.2 million. Revenues at the Denis O’Brien-owned media group fell back by 23 per cent to €64 million from €85 million in 2009.

National radio stations Today FM and Newstalk are just two of the stations that the group operates. Today FM is the number one commercial radio station operator in the Republic.

Last year, staff at the group’s Irish stations took pay cuts of between 5 and 10 per cent in response to declining revenues.

The figures show that group earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation (Ebitda) last year declined by 34 per cent to €11 million from €17 million in 2008.

After the non-cash items of depreciation and amortisation totalling €8.3 million are taken into account, operating profits fell by 64 per cent from its record €7.5 million in 2008 to €2.7 million last year.

However, bank loan interest payments totalling €7.5 million arising from the group’s expansion programme in 2008, which included the acquisition of Today FM and a number of smaller stations in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, pushed the group into the red last year at the pretax level. The group made no acquisitions last year. Retained losses now total €38.3 million.

The group operates and manages 42 radio stations in nine countries – Ireland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Ukraine and its newest market, Jordan.

“Market and trading conditions were difficult in the Irish and European radio markets,” the directors’ report states. “In the global economy, all advertising revenue was down and radio advertising was no exception.

“This resulted in a decline in revenue year on year and, in order to secure the long-term future for all stakeholders in this changing environment, the group was required to focus on cost reduction.”

The returns show that the numbers employed by the group fell by 39, or 5 per cent, last year to 740, with staff costs reduced by 15 per cent from €23.2 million to €19.5 million.

Communicorp’s Irish business accounted for 58 per cent, or €37.8 million, of revenues last year. The figures show that revenues at the group’s Irish stations were hit harder, sustaining a 24 per cent drop in income compared to a 22 per cent drop in the group’s European business.

The accounts show that the group had bank loans totalling €103.6 million at the end of 2009 and an interest-free loan of €90.5 million from Mr O’Brien.

The directors state: “We will maintain our strategy of managing the portfolio intensively, focusing tightly on managing cash resources while retaining a cautious outlook”.