Revenues rose by 5 per cent at Dublin’s RDS in 2015, on the back of steady growth from exhibitions and conferences such as the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition and the Web Summit. The event venue said that construction on the main arena in Ballsbridge will commence after next year’s Horse Show.
Revenues rose by 5 per cent to €18.4 million, and were generated primarily through venue operations and property letting, delivering an operating surplus of €1.8 million for the year. Income from the RDS venue operations was € 13.5 million (up 4 per cent from 2014), generated from a mix of exhibitions, conferences and consumer and trade shows, such as the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, Web Summit, Metropolis, Meitheal (the Irish Trade Travel Fair) and The Ideal Homes Show.
Michael Duffy, chief executive of the RDS, said it was a "good year" for the Society with a "satisfactory increase" in both revenue and operating surplus.
“We increased investment in the Horse Show and in the RDS Foundation programme, reinforcing our commitment to the Society’s core objectives. We continued to invest strongly in our facilities. Venue bookings increased during the year with the return of a number of events which had not taken place for a number of years. There was also a noticeable pick-up in advance bookings throughout 2015, which has continued through to this year.”
The RDS invested some €4.5 million and € 2 million was invested in 14 other philanthropic initiatives across the areas of arts, agriculture, science and industry through the RDS Foundation programme. The RDS also owns and operates the Simmonscourt office buildings, and these two buildings generated net income of € 3.4 million, and were valued at € 80 million, an increase of € 18 million on 2014. When this unrealised valuation gain is added to the accounts, it increases the reported annual surplus to € 20.3 million.
Redevelopment
Announced last year, the RDS is set to redevelop its main arena, at a cost of about €35 million. The RDS wants to increase its main arena capacity from 18,500 to about 25,000 to host Leinster Rugby’s Pro 12 and European home matches, along with the Dublin Horse Show and outdoor concerts. Mr Duffy said that the planning process for the project is set to commence this summer, with the intention to commence construction work immediately after the 2017 Dublin Horse Show.
