Pre-tax profits at the five-time Oscar nominated animation studios Cartoon Saloon in 2024 declined by 20% to €1.06m.
New consolidated accounts show that pre-tax profits decreased as revenues at the Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon Ltd reduced by 8% or €987,540 from €11.72m to €10.73m.
As revenues contracted further in 2024, numbers employed reduced by 31% or 46 from 145 to 99 made up of 96 in operations and three in management.
Since the start of 2023, numbers employed at Cartoon Saloon almost halved from 185 to 96 at the end of 2024.
In 2024, Cartoon Saloon celebrated its 25th anniversary in business and staged events throughout the year to mark the milestone.
In recent years, the company has benefited from the boom in content demand from streaming services such as Netflix, Apple TV and Disney+.
The directors, note, however that like other companies in the animation industry, the company faces risks and uncertainties which mostly result from uncertainty in demand for a particular product as well as the ability to compete successfully with other producers in the market.
The directors state that “they are confident that the company has the ability to compete successfully and grow its market share”.
They state that the cartoon animation and illustration design studio produces feature films, TV series projects, short films, TV commercials, graphic novels and children’s books.
The company’s revenues were made up of €10.42m in animation services and €309,608 in sales of merchandise.
The group’s operating profit increased marginally from €1.163m to €1.199m.
The profits were also hit by the loss of €326,018 in investment income offset by dividend received from associates of €236,250. Profits also reduced due to net interest payments of €42,383.
The group recorded post tax profits of €808,903m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €258,874.
Accumulated profits at the company totalled €81.7m while the company’s cash fund reduced from €3.2m to €1.9m.
The directors did not recommend the payment of a dividend.
The profit takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €149,008 and a €50,118 loss on disposal of assets.
The directors are listed as Paul Young, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey.
Aggregate remuneration to directors increased by 49% from €571,310 to €853,386 in 2024 made up of €548,750 in pay and €304,636 in pension contributions.
The studios have previously received Oscar nominations for “Wolfwalkers”, “Late Afternoon”, “The Breadwinner”, “Song of the Sea” and “The Secret of Kells”.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
