THE ABBEY Theatre moved into the red last year as a redundancy programme resulted in losses of €1.8 million.
The deterioration in the finances of Abbey Theatre – Amharclann na Mainistreach – are confirmed in accounts just posted to the Companies Office. The documents show the theatre posted the loss after recording a modest surplus of € 56,485 in 2008.
Last year’s redundancy programme cost €1.2 million, with the theatre’s directors describing it as “major”. Grants to the Abbey from the council have declined by 28 per cent in three years, from €10 million to € 7.2 million.
The restructuring plan was finalised by the theatre and unions in January this year, when the matter went before the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).
Declan Cantwell, director of finance at the Abbey, said yesterday the plan involved 20 redundancies and an average pay cut of 5 per cent across the organisation.
“The staff have made huge sacrifices and the redundancies and the pay cuts have been particularly painful,” Mr Cantwell said. Most of the restructuring, which also introduced more flexible work practices, is now complete, he added.
The deal will allow the company to save €1 million each year.
Des Courtney, branch organiser of the Irish Equity Group at Siptu, said his members were “pragmatic”, acknowledging the cuts had secured the jobs that remain.
The LRC deal provides for the Abbey’s financial position being reviewed next summer.
Mr Courtney confirmed the pay cuts at the Abbey – where 151 were employed at the end of last year – range from 11 per cent for those earning more than € 100,000 on a graded basis down to cuts of 1.5 per cent to those earning between € 21,000 and € 30,000.
The Abbey accounts show that without Arts Council funding last year of € 8.35 million, the company – which also operates the Peacock Theatre – would have recorded a loss of € 8.8 million for 2009.
Mr Cantwell declined to offer projections for the theatre’s 2010 results, aside from stating “this year, the performance has been steady”.
The accounts show the Abbey’s commercial income fell by 7 per cent from €3.72 million to €3.45 million, with box office income declining by 10 per cent from € 2.64 million to € 2.36 million. The company cut its expenses from € 13.6 million to € 12.3 million.
