Pre-tax profits at the golf royalty earnings firm owned by US Masters champion Rory McIlroy last year declined by 11% to $8.2m (€7.1m).
New accounts filed by the golfer's Rory McIlroy Management Services Ltd show that the company recorded the drop in pre-tax profits as revenues declined by 2% from $36.12m to $35.4m.
The pre-tax profit for the Dublin-based firm takes account of a non-cash write down of $15.7m in McIlroy's image rights during the year in accordance with accountancy rules.
The accounts disclose that the net cash generated by the company from operating activities totalled $25.31m for 2024 which was up 25% on the $20.19m cash generated in 2023.
The company recorded operating profits of $9.48m and interest payments of $1.28m reduced profits to a pre-tax profit of $8.2m.
The in-form McIlroy has recorded a bumper year in earnings on golf courses around the world earning $16.99m alone on the US PGA tour, including the $4.2m he received for securing his first US Masters at Augusta in April of this year.
In another 2025 highlight for McIlroy, he pocketed €948,600 in prize money for winning the Amgen Irish Open at the K Club in dramatic fashion in September.
Prize money and other such earnings are not part of the Irish company's revenue because they tend to be treated as income, and taxed accordingly by the country where the earnings are won.
The accounts show that the company's administrative expenses include a licence of $2.42m paid to Rory McIlroy.
In turn, Rory McIlroy Enterprises Inc paid a $756,737 management fee to the company.
Further, the accounts show that the company redeemed $18m in loan notes held by Rory McIlroy, the sole shareholder of the company.
Cash funds at the McIlroy company increased from $12.4m to $18.44m.
The directors state that "golf's popularity is rising, shown by the increasing number of players in both traditional on-course and alternative game formats. This trend positively impacts the business of professional golf for the medium term".
The firm recorded a post tax profit of $5.4m after incurring a corporation tax charge of $2.77m.
The directors state that the main activity of the company is managing royalty earnings and management fees for Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy's earning power was underlined last year when he received $4.5m first prize place under the US PGA Tour's $100m Player Impact Programme (PIP) where high profile golfers are rewarded for generating the most interest in the PGA tour measured through metrics such as media and TV sponsor exposure.
2024 was the final year of the PIP and has been replaced by the Player Equity Program (PEP).
At the start of 2024, the company had a $162.84m book value placed on McIlroy's image rights and the book value reduced to $147.14m at the end of last year.
Rory McIlroy sits on the board with his father, Gerry, Sean O'Flaherty, Peter Crowley and Neill Hughes.
At the end of last year the firm employed seven, including five directors and two in administration.
Staff costs totalled $2.32m that included pension contribution payments of $41,616 and social insurance costs of $206,145.
Directors' pay was down sharply from $4.76m in 2023 to $1.62m last year.
The company trading as Rory McIlroy Inc, was established in 2013 by McIlroy.
The McIlroy company manages all the royalty payments from the golf star's various endorsements.
McIlroy works in many countries but opted to locate everything to do with his brand and intellectual property in Ireland by setting up the firm here as part of a strategy to simplify his business affairs.
In setting up the firm in the Republic, McIlroy spurned the route often taken by superstar sports personalities by creating a complex structure that would have located his management company in the US while protecting his wealth with tax havens such as the Virgin Islands or Bermuda.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
