Daft Media online group records profit of €2.4m

PRE-TAX PROFITS at online media group Daft Media climbed 12 per cent last year to €2.4 million, according to documents just filed at the Companies Office.

Accounts for Daft Media Limited show the company, which runs the property website Daft.ie, secured turnover of €6.17 million in 2010, up marginally from €6.12 million the previous year.

Operating profit fell slightly to €2.4 million as a result of higher costs and administrative expenses.

However, the group took writedowns on its investments in the websites Boards.ie Limited and Adverts Marketplace Limited in 2009 that were not repeated last year, meaning its pretax and net profits rose.

Brian and Eamonn Fallon, the brothers who founded Daft in 1997, are the two major shareholders in the company.

In a note explaining the principal risks and uncertainties facing the business, the directors state that the company is reliant on the Irish property sector and may be affected if there is a prolonged downturn in the market.

“However, the directors remain confident that the move towards a greater proportionate spend on internet advertising, given its undoubted cost effectiveness, should mitigate this risk.”

Through their group of companies, the Fallons also operate the online forum Boards.ie, Adverts.ie and TheJournal.ie.

The documents show the group paid a dividend of €2.9 million last year. At the end of 2010, Daft Media Limited had shareholders’ funds of €3.2 million, including accumulated profits of €2.8 million. This was a decline on the end of the previous year, when shareholders’ funds were at €4 million.

Boards.ie Limited made a loss of €88,274 last year. The accounts note that the site is not profitable, despite growth in user-traffic and revenue, because of the launch of BoardsDeals.ie and the ongoing investment in the business. The company behind Adverts.ie, meanwhile, lost €336,476 in the 15 months to the end of 2010.

Daft Media Limited increased its shareholding in both Boards.ie and Adverts.ie last year.

The number of people employed by the company increased from 26 to 34 last year, the accounts show.