THE IRISH Stock Exchange’s profit fell by 16 per cent to €4.5 million in 2010 in spite of a modest increase in revenues and reduced administrative overheads.
This was the result of a sharp turnaround in its investment income during the year, according to accounts just filed for the company.
The exchange made a net loss of €161,000 on its various investments last year compared with a surplus of €1.5 million in 2009.
This dragged down the company’s profits for the year.
There was good news on the revenue front, which rose slightly to just under €20.5 million.
Its revenues peaked at €30.3 million in 2007 but plummeted in the following two years as a result of the global financial crash.
The exchange, which trades the shares of Ireland’s public companies and lists investment funds and other securities, reduced its costs by €700,000 in the year to €14.8 million last year.
Staff costs were the largest component of that reduction.
The exchange paid corporation tax of €994,000 in the year, just €1,000 more than in 2009.
The exchange, which is owned by its member firms, saw its income from traded market services rise from €5.4 million to €6.1 million. But revenues from primary market services fell slightly to €13.7 million.
The accounts detail the payments made to directors. Its 11 non-executive directors were paid fees of €302,000 between them.
Chairman Padraic O’Connor was paid €60,000 while John Corrigan, who was appointed in April last year, was paid €16,667. The other non-executives – Raymond Deasy, Roy Barrett, Tony Garry, Paul McGowan, Kevin Murphy, Brendan O’Connor, Maire O’Connor, Conor O’Kelly and Damian Roddy – were each paid €25,000. In addition, other director emoluments, presumably paid to chief executive Deirdre Somers, the only executive director on the board, amounted to €399,000. This represented an increase of €23,000.
The exchange’s net pension almost halved in the year to €349,000. Its freehold property at Anglesea Road was revalued in 2009 at €2.83 million from a value of €4.6 million in 2005.
