TYNAGH ENERGY PROFIT SOARS 60% TO €40m AFTER SHUTDOWN - Profit at Tynagh Energy, the multinational-backed power generator that is receiving a €66 million subsidy from electricity consumers, soared to €40 million in 2013, according to its most recent figures.
Tynagh is the single biggest beneficiary from the public service obligation (PSO) levied on all electricity users and will receive €66.4 million from the €335.4 million total that the charge will generate over the 12 months to next October. Accounts recently filed by Tynagh show that its pretax profit grew 60% to €40 million in 2013 from €25 million the previous year, says the Irish Times. Turnover rose by about 2.5% to €120 million. The company said the growth in profit was partly due to a three-month shutdown of its generating plant in 2012 for scheduled maintenance. Galway-based Tynagh Energy's owners include US giant General Electric and Turkish construction and utility group Gama. At the end of last year, shareholders' funds stood at €71.3 million, almost twice the €37.6 million recorded on December 31st, 2012. The Commission for Energy Regulation reviews the PSO every October and this year decided to increase it by €125 million, with the result that all households are paying €5.36 more a month on their electricity bills.
***
ECB IS BECOMING IRRELEVANT - IMF's FORMER IRISH ENVOY - The International Monetary Fund's former Ireland mission chief has heavily criticised the European Central Bank (ECB), saying it has in effect become irrelevant. The Irish Independent says that in a paper published by Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel, Ashoka Mody argued that the ECB's efforts to tackle low inflation and stave off the threat of deflation in the Eurozone were "woefully behind the curve". And he accused the Governing Council of essentially damaging its own credibility by not acting decisively enough. "Rather than a central bank that helps revive growth and inflation, the ECB has become a safety net for dealing with near-insolvency conditions," Mr Mody wrote. "Its coyly-stated target of an additional trillion euros in balance sheet expansion will not occur and, if it does, would have a trivial effect. By consistently using words while failing to act in time, the ECB is eroding its hard-won credibility." The ECB slashed its forecasts earlier this month for growth and inflation over the next two years, saying the outlook had deteriorated since its last staff forecasts were published in September.
***
U2 SEE COMPANY LOSSES TOP €10.5m - Accumulated losses at U2’s main Irish firm increased by over €2m last year to nearly €10.5m. New figures for the band’s Not Us Ltd show that the firm plunged further into the red, with accumulated losses going from €8.35m to €10.49m in the 12 months to the end of December last. The firm is being supported by Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr, and Adam Clayton, who provided a directors’ loan of €2.25m last year, says the Irish Examiner. A note attached to the accounts states that the directors’ loan attracts an annual interest rate of 3% per annum. The figures, recently lodged with the Companies Office, show that the cash pile at the band’s firm last year dropped from €545,706 to €160,196. The downturn in the company’s fortunes coincided with a period of inactivity by U2 on the music front. The band’s last major revenue-generating year was 2011. That year, their 360° tour grossed $231.9m, a figure shared between artist, promoter, and venue owner after 2.38m music fans paid to see the band in 34 gigs across 26 cities. Prior to Songs of Innocence this year, the band’s last album release was in 2009 when they released No Line on the Horizon.
***
$1 TRILLION COST OF LONGEST US WAR HASTENS RETREAT FROM MILITARY INTERVENTION - The Afghanistan war, the longest overseas conflict in American history, has cost the US taxpayer nearly $1 trillion and will require spending several hundred billion dollars more after it officially ends this month, according to Financial Times calculations and independent researchers. Around 80% of that spending on the Afghanistan conflict has taken place during the presidency of Barack Obama, who sharply increased the US military presence in the country after taking office in 2009. The enormous bill for the 13-year conflict, which has never been detailed by the government, will add to the pervasive scepticism about the war in the US, where opinion polls show a majority of Americans believe it was a bad idea. With the Iraq war having already cost the US $1.7 trillion, according to one study, the bill from the Afghanistan conflict is an important factor in the broader reluctance among the American public and the Obama administration to intervene militarily in other parts of the world - including sending troops back to Iraq.
