McIlroy hit by £80mlossas valueofhis image rights reassessed
RORY McIlroy’s management and image rights firm recorded a pre-tax loss of $105.4m (£79.4m) last year.
The paper loss stems from a non-cash write-down of $99m in the value of McIlroy’s lifetime image rights.
The Co Down golfer is unlikely to be too perturbed over the loss by his Dublin-based firm with Forbes magazine last year estimating that he earned $42.5m in 2016 — $35m from endorsements and $7.5m in winnings.
Mcllroy is currently taking a break from the sport having battled with injury for much of the year, and will return to play on January 25.
The figures show that revenues at Rory McIlroy Management Services (RMMS) Ltd last year totalled $21.7m — or $418,269 per week.
Revenues at the company declined by 15% from $25m to $21.7m.
Explaining the write-down, a spokeswoman for the four-time Major winner said yesterday: “RMMS Ltd own and manage Rory’s lifetime image rights.
“Each year, the directors review the value of these rights.
“The value the directors assign fluctuates in line with changes in Rory’s operating environment.”
On the write-down, the directors state that it occurred following their assessment of the possible impairment of the company’s trademarks and intellectual property rights at the end of the financial year.
The main activity of the company is managing royalty earnings and management fees for the golfer.
The directors of the firm state that “income levels were in line with expectations”. The company’s cash pile almost doubled during the year, from $3.83m to $6.7m.
At the start of last year, the company had a massive $400m book value placed on McIlroy’s image rights, but this decreased to $280m at the end of last year. This was through a combination of the $99m write-down and non-cash amortisation costs of $21m.
The value of the McIlroy brand is underlined by the fact that it persuaded the likes of Nike to enter a reported $250m 10-year deal with the 28-year-old.
The firm paid $2.1m in corporation tax.
It generated its $21m in income from royalties and management fees.