Revenues decline 2.5% at The Irish Times media group

The Irish Times media group saw its revenues decline by 2.5 per cent last year and recorded a loss of €800,000, accounts just filed show. The Irish Times DAC – which includes the Cork-based Irish Examiner, a number of regional titles, and digital assets MyHome.ie and RIP.ie – posted revenue of €112.7 million, down from €115.6 million a year earlier. Some €2.4 million of this related to the sale of a radio asset (WKW FM) and the wind-down of Irish Times Training. A €3.5 million fall in publishing revenues was offset by a €3 million increase in non-publishing turnover. The company slipped into the red having made a €4 million profit in 2024, which was largely due to a €3.9 million gain on the disposal of WKW FM. READ MOREThe accounts show termination payments of €741,975 during the year. These relate to former group managing director Deirdre Veldon, who stepped down in September 2025. The accounts show that the annual salary of the chief executive Garry Moroney and the editor Ruadhán MacCormaic rose to €281,000 from €275,000. The deputy editor received €162,000 while the chief financial officer was paid a salary of €182,000.As chairman of the board, Shay Garvey received a fee of €67,000 while John Hegarty received €31,000 as chairman of The Irish Times Trust, which is effectively the company’s shareholder. The average fee per director in 2025 was €13,023. The group had an average of 802 employees during the year, down 35 on the previous 12 months. Staff payroll costs amounted to €60.7 million, up from €60.9 million in 2024.The group’s investment portfolio increased in value to €29.1 million during the year, up from €27.4 million, while net cash fell to €7.1 million from €7.9 million. Commenting on current trading, chief executive Garry Moroney said he expects revenues to rise by about 2 per cent this year despite a continued decline in print revenues. “Digital advertising has been good. It’s up over 10 per cent year-on-year. That’s a positive. In terms of digital licensing, we are seeing some more engagement from the tech platforms. It’s one that we can grow. “In terms of subscriptions, we will probably have similar growth to last year but we had set a big target this year and haven’t managed to hit that acceleration. It’s been steady growth.”He acknowledged that print sales continue to decline, albeit that the group is performing ahead of the market and had secured new print contracts from other publishers last year. On whether The Irish Times might consider ceasing print production on certain days of the week, he said: “No, we have no plans to do that. It’s not something we’re planning.”