PRE-TAX PROFITS at the main Irish unit of US security software maker McAfee last year increased by 9 per cent to €21.7 million.

Accounts just filed with the Companies Office show that the Cork-based McAfee Ireland Ltd increased its revenue by 4 per cent from €368.6 million to €383.3 million in the 12 months to the end of December last year.

During 2011, McAfee, which has its headquarters for its operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in Cork, announced the creation of an additional 30 high-quality research and development jobs at its Cork base.

The jobs announcement was in addition to the 120 jobs announced in Cork in 2010, and the new figures show that the numbers now employed at McAfee’s Cork operation increased to 298 last year.

In February 2011, Intel agreed to buy McAfee’s global operation for $7.68 billion in cash in an effort to boost its security offerings.

The firm’s spend on R&D last year totalled €5.4 million.

McAfee, which established its Irish operations in 2004, provides a series of security solutions including anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and intrusion prevention. The profits last year reduced the firm’s accumulated losses to €12.5 million. The firm’s shareholder deficit stood at €10.6 million.

The company’s cost of sales decreased from €265.2 million to €262.9 million, while its administrative expenses increased from €84.2 million to €101 million.

The accounts show that the company’s operating profits increased marginally from €19 million to €19.4 million.

A large contributor to the increase in pre-tax profits was interest receivable topping €2.35 million, compared with €937,210 in 2010. The profit was recorded after a non-cash depreciation charge of €934,398.

An analysis of the company’s turnover shows €214.3 million was generated in EU countries, with €169 million in non-EU countries.

Staff costs last year rose from €17.6 million to €20.4 million.

The figures show that the numbers employed by the firm last year increased from 263 to 298, with 107 engaged in administration, 80 in technical support, and the numbers employed in sales and marketing increasing from 106 to 111 during the year.

Remuneration for the company’s directors increased last year from €524,766 to €684,344.