Dublin radio station Newstalk has reported accumulated losses of €3.8 million in accounts lodged with the Companies Office.
The accounts for 2002 show the station's losses rising from €423,836 to €3.8 million. The station begin broadcasting in April 2002. Entrepreneur Mr Denis O'Brien now holds 57 per cent of the equity.
The station has been studying various programming and presenting changes in recent weeks, although the possibility of signing up broadcaster Mr Eamon Dunphy has receded since Christmas.
The accounts provide the first indication of the level of losses at the station which has struggled to gain a major foothold in the Dublin market. The accounts are for a company called News 106 Limited.
The accounts disclose that investors had unsecured loans in the business worth €3.3 million. The accounts state that the loan notes are non-interest bearing and will be paid back at the discretion of the company and following approval from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI).
The company had called up share capital in 2002 of €380,926.
According to accountants Deloitte & Touche the accounts were prepared on a going concern basis.
Shareholders will provide additional financial support in the form of share capital and long- term loan notes so the station can "continue its operations for the foreseeable future", the notes state. The accounts disclose that Mr John Purcell, chairman of News 106 Limited, charged the company €65,373 for services provided during the year under review.
There will be keen interest among radio stations today when the latest Joint National Listenership Research figures are released. Newstalk had a 3 per cent listenership figure in the six months from January 2003 to June 2003. This was the same level of performance as achieved by Spin FM and Dublin's Country 106.8.
