Revenues at the golf royalty earnings firm owned by golfing superstar Rory McIlroy almost doubled to $37.66 million (€34.38 million) last year.
Accounts show that the Dublin-based Rory McIlroy Management Services Ltd recorded pretax profits of $14.56 million (€13.29 million) as the business benefited from McIlroy’s form in 2022 that propelled him to the top of the golf world rankings. It posted revenues of $19.72 million in 2021– an increase of $17.94 million or 91 per cent. The company had sustained a pretax loss of $2.35 million in 2021.
The pretax profit for the firm takes account of a non-cash write-down of $15.7 million in McIlroy’s image rights during the year in accordance with accountancy rules.
The accounts disclose that the net cash generated by the company from operating activities totalled $20.47 million for 2022 compared to $12.88 million for 2021.
The in-form McIlroy was left disappointed in 2022 by missing out on the British Open on the last day to Cameron Smith, but was buoyed by coming second in the US Masters. McIlroy scored his biggest pay-day on the course in 2022, according to Forbes, with a record $26.7 million in prize money, including $18m for claiming the FedEx Cup title.
Prize money and other such earnings are not part of the Irish company’s revenue because they tend to be treated as income and taxed accordingly by the country where the earnings are won.
The accounts show that cash funds at the McIlroy company increased from $12.08 million to $21.17 million.
In a note with the accounts the directors pointed out that golf’s popularity is “was rising, shown by the increasing number of players in both traditional on-course and alternative game formats. This trend positively impacts the business of professional gold for the medium term”.
The firm recorded a post-tax profit of $11.36 million after incurring a corporation tax charge of $3.2 million.
The main activity of the company is managing royalty earnings and management fees for Rory McIlroy, one of the most marketable players in world golf and current world No 2.
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McIlroy’s earning power was underlined in recent days when he received $15m first prize place under the US PGA Tour’s $100 million Player Impact Programme (PIP) where high-profile golfers are rewarded for generating the most interest in the PGA Tour measured through metrics such as media and TV sponsor exposure.
The McIlroy management company recorded an operating profit of $16.18 million last year and interest payments of $1.6m resulted in a pre-tax profit of $14.56 million.
At the start of last year, the company had a $194.24 million book value placed on McIlroy’s image rights and it reduced to $178.54 million at the end of last year.
Rory McIlroy sits on the board with his father, Gerry, Sean O’Flaherty and recent appointees, Peter Crowley and Neill Hughes. Donal Casey resigned from the board in August.
Last year, the pay to directors increased by 5pc rising from $2.66m to $2.79m.
At the end of last year, the firm employed six made up of four directors and two in administration. Staff costs totalled $3.46 million which included pension contribution payments of $71,435 and social insurance costs of $324,461.
The company trading as Rory McIlroy Inc, was established towards the end of 2013 by McIlroy.
The McIlroy company manages all the royalty payments from the golf star’s various endorsements.
