Newstalk broadcaster Anton Savage and three other directors at Dublin-based PR firm, The Communications Clinic last year shared €909,125 in pay and pension payments, according to its latest accounts.
The accounts show that Mr Savage, Eoghan Tomás McDermott, Daragh O’Shaughnessy and Terry Prone last year shared €882,925 in remuneration and an additional €26,200 in pension payments.
The aggregate pay to directors was a 16 per cent increase on thepayout of €778,679 i the previous year.
The firm – which counts golfer Rory McIlroy as a client – recorded a modest profit of €6,130 for the 12 months to the end of March last and it followed profits of €5,724 for the year before.
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At the end of March last year, the firm had accumulated profits of €932,136.
The company’s cash funds declined marginally during the year from €1.16 million to €1.06 million.
Asked to comment on the firm’s financial performance, managing director, Eoghan Tomás McDermott said: “2023 was a good year for the business.”
He said: “We developed an online suite of training products during Covid. They now complement our one-to-one and group training, which has returned to pre-Covid levels. That additional offering has seen our training business double in size, a growth that was driven by both private and public sector clients.”
He said: “Our largest training contract in 2023 saw us train more than 4,000 individuals, with the programmes running a ‘would recommend to a colleague’ rate north of 98%.”
Mr McDermott – who took over as MD in 2018 – said that the Communications Clinic has expanded in Training and Advisory with total direct staff numbers at 21 people.
He said: “Our job-interview preparation service continues to grow as the job market becomes more competitive.”
Mr McDermott said that the firm continues its long-standing relationship with Rory McIlroy Incorporated and “we have expanded our partnership with Trinity College’s Business School, and we were recently appointed as advisers to a big public works project of national significance”.
The firm’s website lists some of the firm’s other clients and they include Uisce Éireann, AerCap, PRIMARK, The Bank of Ireland and AIB.
Mr McDermott said: “As managing director, I am very proud of the work done – and standards set – by my colleagues across the organisation over the last year, and optimistic for the year to come.”
The firm’s profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €14,364 and a loss of €10,451 on the disposal of an asset.
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