Staff at Storyful share bonus payments of €1.07m over two years as losses narrow
New accounts show that staff at Storyful Ltd shared a "staff bonus" of €556,958 in the 12 months to the end of June last and this followed a bonus payout of €515,135 in 2023.
The News Corporation-owned Storyful Ltd accounts show that pre-tax losses at the business last year narrowed by 14% from €3.08m to €2.66m.
The business reduced its losses as revenues decreased by 18% from €4.19m to €3.44min the 12 months to the end of June last.
The Irish unit recorded the losses as the company "continued to expand services for media, brands and social platforms and made investments in the product and technology departments".
The directors stress that not all of Storyful's global revenue figures are included in these results "and therefore this report should be interpreted only with respect to Storyful Ltd".
The firm's administrative expenses reduced from €5.23m to €4.64m and the directors state that "these expenses continued to be tightly controlled and are driven primarily by payroll costs and amortisation".
The business last year recorded the pre-tax losses after booking combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €684,404.
The loss also takes into account a loss of €60,366 in exchange differences and restructuring costs of €32,869. The firm's lease costs increased from €334,854 to €408,847.
The firm did benefit from an R&D tax credit of €58,937.
Numbers employed decreased from 66 to 64 with 31 in editorial. 18 in technology and development, 12 in general and administration and three in sales and marketing.
Staff costs - that included the bonus payment of €556,958 - last year totalled €5.8m that was an increase on the €5.69m paid out in the prior year.
Former RTE Primetime presenter Mark Little set up the company in 2010 and Mr Little and the company's investors sold it to News Corp for €18m in December 2013.
A note attached states that the directors have considered the losses to date and report that they are satisfied that appropriate measures have been taken to bring about the company's profitability.
The note states that funding provided by and available from the shareholder is sufficient to enable the company to meet its liabilities as they fall due.
The pay package for directors increased from €868,656 to €925,928, which was made up of remuneration of €731,907, €160,071 under long term incentive plans and €33,950 in pension contributions.
At the end of June last, accumulated losses of €58.52m were offset by the share premium account of €59m and called up share capital of €392,075 - resulting in shareholders' funds of €908,278.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
178,000 products withdrawn, recalled or prevented from reaching market in 2024
Over 178,000 unsafe products were recalled, withdrawn or prevented from reaching the Irish market last year by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. The actions were taken following consumer complaints, referrals from European networks, proactive investigations and work with Revenue Customs. The recalls included almost 10,000 babies sleepsuits and over 2,400 toy construction trucks. The CCPC's annual report for 2024 also showed that it carried out more than 200 consumer protection inspections last year. As a result of the enforcement and legal actions, it issued 47 fixed penalty notices and 23 compliance notices. The report said successful prosecutions were brought against five retailers, including Tesco Ireland. The CCPC said the retailer pleaded guilty to two sample counts of failing to comply with the law in how they displayed the price of products offered on promotion to clubcard holders. The consumer watchdog also undertook five successful prosecutions for breaches of consumer protection law, including action against misleading pricing practices. And it opened an investigation into Ticketmaster Ireland and its handling of the sale of Oasis tickets last August, following almost 100 complaints over dynamic pricing. The commission also carried out dawn raids on two premises as part of an ongoing cartel-related investigation in the home alarm industry. It also assisted the Italian Competition Authority, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, in an unannounced search of Ryanair's headquarters in Dublin as part of an ongoing Italian competition law investigation. The CCPC said its "successful intervention to prevent a potential monopoly in car parking at Dublin Airport" was among its highlights in 2024. The consumer watchdog said it blocked the daa's attempted purchase of the former Quickpark site due to findings that it would lead to "higher prices, less choice and lower service quality for consumers." As a result, it said it facilitated the entry of a new competitor to the car park market at Dublin Airport. There was a 21% increase in merger notifications, with 71% of determinations last year made within 13.3 days under a simplified process. 2024 marked a significant milestone for the CCPC, which celebrated its 10th anniversary, marking what it described as "a decade of work promoting competition and enhancing consumer welfare." The Chairperson of the CCPC, Brian McHugh, said the annual report highlights the "vital role the CCPC plays across all sectors of the economy, from enforcing consumer law on retail pricing, to advocating proactively for reforming the legal sector to better serve the interests of Irish businesses and consumers." "Open, fair markets are the backbone of our economy's success, ensuring that whether consumers are making small everyday purchases or major financial decisions, their interests are protected," he added. "Following a year of notable achievements and a decade of progress, our focus remains on delivering transparent outcomes, empowering consumers with knowledge of their rights, and being a leading voice for competition and consumer welfare across Ireland." The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, said the CCPC "continues to deliver for Irish consumers and businesses by ensuring our markets remain competitive, transparent, and safe." "Their work in 2024, from blocking anti-competitive mergers to removing dangerous products and empowering consumers through education, demonstrates the importance of strong, independent enforcement." Minister Burke said he will continue his close collaboration with the CCPC to ensure it has "sufficient powers and resources to effectively advocate for and enforce competition and consumer protection legislation." The commission said it responded to over 44,000 helpline contacts and received 1.8 million visits to its website throughout last year.
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Sleep suits, toy trucks and car parking at Dublin Airport: some of the actions taken by the consumer watchdog last year
Through consumer complaints, referrals from European networks, investigations and work with Revenue, the unsafe products were recalled, removed or prevented from reaching the Irish market. Among the recalls were nearly 10,000 babies' sleep suits and more than 2,400 toy construction trucks. Successful prosecutions were brought against five retailers last year, with Tesco Ireland pleading guilty to two sample counts of failing to comply with laws around the display of product prices on promotion for Clubcard holders. CCPC chairperson Brian McHugh said the annual report 'highlights the vital role the CCPC plays across all sectors of the economy'. "As we look ahead, it is clear that the CCPC's work is more important than ever and our vision for open and competitive markets where consumers are protected and businesses actively compete, remains at the heart of everything we do. 'Following a year of notable achievements and a decade of progress, our focus remains on delivering transparent outcomes, empowering consumers with knowledge of their rights, and being a leading voice for competition and consumer welfare across Ireland.' 'The CCPC continues to deliver for Irish consumers and businesses by ensuring our markets remain competitive, transparent, and safe,' Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said. 'Their work in 2024 – from blocking anti-competitive mergers to removing dangerous products and empowering consumers through education – demonstrates the importance of strong, independent enforcement.' Among the items highlighted in the report was the work done by the CCPC to block the sale of the former QuickPark car park site at Dublin Airport, an effort to prevent a monopoly in that market. In March of last year, the sale of the car park based on the Swords Road in Santry to the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) was blocked over concerns it would lead to higher prices and a lower quality of service for consumers. ADVERTISEMENT A CCPC investigation found the deal would have seen DAA own more than 90pc of public car parking spaces serving Dublin Airport, leading to 'harmful consequences for consumers'. Following the decision, DAA said it saw 'merit' in appealing, but decided against an appeal to ensure the car park's spaces got back on the market ahead of the busy summer period. The report also highlighted assistance provided to the Italian competition authority by the CCPC in an unannounced search of Ryanair's Dublin headquarters last year. The search in March 2024 came as part of an Italian competition law investigation into whether Ryanair was abusing its dominant position in the market to hinder travel agents from selling Ryanair flights. Claims that Ryanair abused its dominant market position were denied by the airline. In January, the airline lost an appeal to overturn a decision it cannot sue the Italian competition authority in Ireland over the search. The High Court had dismissed Ryanair's case against the Autorità Garante Della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) in June of last year.
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Fear for FAI staff as 'Business Transformational Plan' looms
FAI staff fear for redundancies after the organisation confirmed a 'Business Transformational Plan' will be presented to the board for approval next month. Speculation over a reduction in headcount has been ongoing as the association's debt levels have plateaued at €40m in recent years. Pointedly, chief executive David Courell pivoted from a position of ruling out layoffs last year to leaving open the possibility when he last addressed the media in April. Latest available figures from annual accounts quantify staff levels at 251, amounting to payroll costs of €13.6m. Losing their playoff against Wales for this year's Women's Euros in Switzerland denied the FAI a minimum of €2m in prize-money while a successful path through a qualification beginning in September for next year's men's World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico would expect to gross at least €10m. Heimir Hallgrímsson's Ireland are third seeds behind Portugal and Hungary in a group where runners-up secures a route to the finals through the playoffs. The FAI's staff engagement committee, comprised of employee representatives, were informed of the upcoming transformational plan this week at headquarters. Details were sketchy but the anticipation is a restructuring process ultimately leading to a lower workforce. It remains to be seen if there's a voluntary aspect to job losses. 'Our senior leadership team have been working for quite some time now looking at how, as an organisation, we're structured to be as effective as we can be,' said Courell three months ago. 'We have big ambitions for Irish football and want to make sure we're aligned to deliver on those. 'We were entering into a review of how we would structure our organisation to deliver our pathways plan. 'We're also nearing a construct of what 2026 to 2029 strategy will look like, taking the opportunity to look at how we're structured as an organisation to ensure we're set up in the best way to deliver locally, regionally, nationally - making sure that we're as efficient as we can be as a not-for-profit organisation.' Connected but separate to the FAI, it's understood the Cork-based Education Training Board (ETB) course for budding footballers is being discontinued. The course currently employs four coordinators - ex-Cork City players Stuart Ashton, Dave Hill, Ian Turner and Mark McNulty. It is not yet clear whether the quartet will be redeployed.
