Business

Media company behind The Currency increases profit to €344,000

Digital business publication has 6,200 paying members and annual revenue of €1.44m, chief executive Tom Lyons says

Ian Kehoe and Tom Lyons, the founders of the profitable digital start-up Currency Media. Photograph: Collins Courts

Laura Slattery
Mon Jun 17 2024 - 19:09

Currency Media, the company behind digital financial journalism publication The Currency, has increased its annual profit to €344,000, newly filed accounts show. Its performance underlines how its business model is “paying off”, according to its chief executive.

The company, founded by financial journalist Tom Lyons and former Business Post editor Ian Kehoe, began publishing in 2019 and entered profit in its second full year of operation. It has now recorded three consecutive years of profit, with the figure for the year to the end of September 2023 comparing to a profit of about €301,500 in the prior 12-month period.

“I think it’s a very sustainable business model built on long-term relationships with our members,” said Mr Lyons, chief executive of the company.

The Currency has about 6,200 paying subscribers, or members, up from 6,000 a year ago, he said, with the majority of the membership base signed up to an annual rather than monthly subscription. This increases financial stability and reduces the likelihood of churn.

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The company also does comparatively little discounting on price, with any special offers around events such as Black Friday quickly reverting to full price. Mr Lyons said this strategy allowed it to build up its annual recurring revenue in a sustainable manner. The Currency’s growth proved that people will pay for a news product if it offers high-quality, relevant and original journalism to readers, he said.

The company generated revenue of €1.44 million in the year to the end of September, up from €1.25 million a year earlier, and revenue was on track to exceed €1.5 million in its current financial period. It is also on course to record a fourth consecutive profit, Mr Lyons said.

After the Greater Dublin Area, its biggest market for members is London, where it has recently hired financial journalist Michael Cogley as London editor to lead its developing presence in the UK.

“London and the UK is the obvious next place for us,” Mr Lyons said.

Mr Lyons and Mr Kehoe, the directors of the company, shared €188,000 in pay between them last year, up from €180,000, the accounts show.

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics

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