The company behind Web Summit has reported a loss before tax of €5.6 million last year despite a 14 per cent jump in revenue, according to a statement from the event organiser.
It said a significant investment in staff costs were responsible for the loss in accounts that have now been filed with the Companies Registration Office, according to the company.
Attendance at the company’s events worldwide jumped 21 per cent to more than 128,000, helping revenue climb to €60 million. The group runs web summits in Lisbon, Vancouver, Doha and, for the first time in 2024, in Qatar. It also runs the Collision event in Toronto. The Lisbon event continues to be the most important in its calendar with the company reporting 71,000 attendees at this year’s event last week.
Web Summit said the number of partnerships grew by 37 per cent to 725 in 2023 and there had been a 58 per cent increase in start-up exhibitors at its events, reaching a total of more than 6,000.
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Founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave says the business expects to record profits of between €4 million and €5 million for the current year
In the statement, the company said it had invested heavily in its team in 2023, adding nearly 50 staff to bring total headcount to 331.
The most recent filed accounts for Manders Terrace, the parent company of Web Summit, said it employed an average of 239 staff, including directors, in 2022 at a total cost, including wages, social insurance and pensions of €22.3 million.
The statement on the group’s website said staffing costs last year rose by €4.5 million. “This significant increase of investment in its staff – a key pillar of future growth – saw the company record earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of €300,000 and a pretax loss of €5.6 million for 2023,” it said. Profit before tax in 2022 was €326,489, falling to €114,116 after tax.
The company said it believed it was now “optimally positioned” to support its four events moving forward.
“Investing in growth is the lifeblood of the most successful tech companies,” Mr Cosgrave said. “While it took tremendous belief in our business to commit to the increased staffing levels and wages we saw in 2023, our performance during 2024 – for which we are forecasting a profit of €4-€5 million – makes that decision to aim high worth it.
“In 2023 we managed to reach more than 128,000 attendees in three continents and that grew even more in 2024 with the introduction of Web Summit Qatar. We are lucky we can achieve all of this with such a talented team, at the same time as growing revenue and making significant levels of profit.
“In 2025 we plan to make significant new investments to lay the foundations for expansion through to 2030, including key hires in new markets,” he added.
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