The significant resurgent growth in the popularity of vinyl records contributed to pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of music giant, Universal Music, almost tripling to €1.76m last year.
Universal Music Ireland Ltd counts Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Adele, Coldplay, Hozier and U2 amongst its roster of stars and new accounts show that revenue increased from €26.31m to €27.26m.
The firm's pre-tax profits increased by 190% rising from €607,818 to €1.76m.
The directors say that the revenue increase last year was primarily "due to the significant resurgent growth in the popularity of vinyl records" and to the continued positive growth in subscribers to legal streaming music services.
The directors state that the company maintained its leading market share in the Irish music market in 2022.
The company's cost of sales decreased from €21.1m to €20m while its administrative expenses increased from €4.47m to €5.3m.
Universal Music Ireland Ltd also counts Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish amongst its stand out acts.
The Irish company last year paid out an interim dividend of €1m.
Numbers employed by the business last year increased by two to 20 with staff costs increasing marginally from €1.92m to €1.94m.
Remuneration, including pension payments for the firm’s two directors, Mark Crossingham and Nick Younger, last year increased from €628,573 to €640,790 made up of emoluments of €600,864 and pension contributions of €39,926.
At the end of December last, the firm had shareholder funds of €3.5m that included accumulated profits of €3m.
The company last year recorded post tax profits of €1.53m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €229,042.
The directors state that the company faces risks and uncertainties, which could include but are not limited to the current world and local economic downturn and its effect on customer spending in all areas of the Irish music market and its effect on discretionary consumer spending in general.
The directors state that they manage these risks by ensuring that the company has adequate current financial support and by actively seeking out new business opportunities.
