The IE Domain Registry (IEDR) has reversed its precarious financial position of three years ago when it has losses of €1.2m and today reported an operating profit of €880k on a turnover of €2.2m for the year ended 31 December, 2004. New registrations of .ie domains increased 33pc during the year.
The IEDR’s chief executive David Curtin said continued improvement in financial and operational performance during 2004 enabled the IEDR to reduce prices by 12.5pc this year.
“We have also continued with our programme of operational improvements to make it easier for our customers to register and maintain .ie domains and for internet service providers to manage their interface with us efficiently. It is also especially pleasing to note that, with the elimination of the legacy of an accumulated deficit from 2002, the IEDR is in every respect now in a very strong financial position,” Curtin said.
The audited accounts for 2004 show a profit of €880k, as compared with a profit of €481k in 2003 and a loss of €1.2m in 2002. The result was achieved through a combination of business growth and cost reduction.
Growth of more than 32pc in new registrations of .ie domains was achieved in 2004, reflecting economic buoyancy and operational improvements. Operational costs were reduced by 13pc in 2004, following on the 50pc reduction in 2003.
Prices were reduced by 12.5pc from 1 January 2005, which, taken together with the 10pc reduction from 1 January 2003, means that prices have come down by more than 20pc since 2002, the company claimed.
According to Curtin, the company is cash flow positive and with current favourable trading conditions the outlook for business growth and profitability is looking good.
Citing a strong balance sheet, Curtin added that an accumulated deficit of €61,264 has already been extinguished. This contrasts with an accumulated deficit in 2003 of €941,459.
According to the IEDR’s balance sheet, the organisation has current assets valued in the region of €1.2m plus fixed assets valued at €76,440.
In an interview with siliconrepublic.com, Curtin explained that the IEDR has no plans to branch into other business areas. “We’ve come from a very rocky past. And although service levels have improved dramatically, there is still a need to consolidate our recent growth for the next few months.”
Acknowledging that the IEDR has been criticised for its pricing compared to lower charges in the UK and Germany for domain names, Curtin dismissed such criticism arguing that it is really a question of scale. “In the UK, millions of people and companies are registering for domains so of course they can charge less. We will never get to that level, but as volumes grow that gives us more revenues and certainly more scope to cut prices.”
Curtin also pointed out that technology deployments in terms of such innovations as a reseller console have enabled the IEDR to cut bureaucratic red tape and speed up the process of people registering domains. “If you’re a company with a registered name and all the information required, that application will be accepted within a few hours. Our system currently manages two rebuilds a day; one at 12pm and one at 5pm. That’s an order of magnitude greater than before when you had to wait a few days for an application to be processed.
“The problem in the past was that systems were manual. Now these systems and the processes are more automated and from that point of view we are open 24/7,” Curtin added.
By John Kennedy
