The media firm controlled by former RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy returned to profit in 2023 following a tumultuous year.
New accounts lodged by his Tuttle Productions Ltd with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) show a post-tax profit of €37,094 for the 12 months to the end of last December, following a loss of €41,318 the previous year.
The accounts do not disclose any pay Mr Tubridy may have shared in 2023 as details of directors’ remunerations are not included.
This is in contrast to prior accounts for 2022, which disclosed that €441,077 was paid to directors, following €440,924 in 2021 – making a total of €882,001 over that two-year period.
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The non-disclosure of directors’ pay is common practice in company accounts filed on behalf of high-profile TV and radio presenters.
At the end of last year, Tuttle Productions Ltd had shareholder funds of €19,893. The company’s current assets, made up of cash funds and money owed by debtors, totalled €84,813.
Mr Tubridy, who took up a presenting slot at Virgin Radio UK a year ago, is the sole director following the departure of his mother, Catherine Tubridy, at the end of last year.
The six-page accounts do not disclose the company’s revenues for the year. It is not required to give such detail as it qualifies as a micro company under the Companies Act 2014.
Mr Tubridy’s move to London followed his exit from RTÉ in the wake of the organisation’s hidde-payments scandal.
In June 2023 it emerged RTÉ had not publicly disclosed payments made to him under a side deal. Two months later, RTÉ's director general, Kevin Bakhurst, said there were “no plans” for the presenter to return to Radio 1.
Figures released in August this year show Mr Tubridy has 503,000 listeners on Virgin Radio UK, with his audience growing 10 per cent between his first and second quarters on air.
Formerly the best paid presenter at RTÉ, Mr Tubridy referenced his high pay before the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (Pac) in July 2023 when he told members: “I understand that the amount of money we’re talking about is eye-watering, I’m not a fool, I understand that. But I haven’t changed as a person over those years, despite the extraordinary bank balance.”
The most recently published top 10 RTÉ on-air earners for 2022 show Mr Tubridy was paid €515,000 that year.
“I loved working in RTÉ,” he said in a recent interview, “I worked with the best in the business in RTÉ. I had the best team in the business and they remained steadfast and loyal and kind, and I do miss them. I will always cherish my time there.”
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