IFA Telecom records trading loss of nearly €100,000, first in 20 years

IFA Telecom, a subsidiary of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) that brokers phone and broadband deals for farmers, made a trading loss of €98,525 in the year ending March 2023, its first loss in 20 years.

The company made a profit the previous year of €425,649, while it made a profit of €652,629 in the year before that, its financial statements show.

IFA Telecom has seen a slow drop in sales over the last few years, according to its accounts.

In 2023, it had sales of €5.54m, which was down from the 2022 figure of €5.58m.

That in turn was down from the sales of €5.7m in 2021.

The company’s financial statements from years prior to this do not give specific figures for its turnover.

Profits

The company still has substantial accumulated profits, though the loss for the year meant that this figure fell slightly from €6.9m to €6.8m.

Its cash pile rose from €1.5m to €1.7m in the same period.

Meanwhile, the company’s accounts show it has been actively trading publicly listed shares, and there was a rise in the value of money it was investing during the year.

While it does not name any of the investments made, the accounts show that in the year to the end of March 2023, it spent €634,909 on investments in publicly listed companies and sold €542,528 worth of investments in the same year.

The previous year it spent €159,896 in shares and bought €252,891 worth.

Investments

Overall the value of its investments fell to €2.95m in March 2023, having stood at €3m in April 2022.

IFA Telecom is wholly owned by the IFA, and it owes its parent company €3m, down from €3.2m the year before.

The company had 26 employees and a wage bill of €993,360. During the year, it paid €123,675 to Kernow Limited, a company controlled by consultant David Walsh. A former telecommunications executive, Mr Walsh was paid €119,655 the year before.

In December, the IFA announced its income had risen from €15.7m in 2022 to €17.1m in 2023, though its costs also rose in the same period, meaning its surplus for the year fell from €1.8m to €1.3m. Its accumulated surplus stood at €17.6m.

Soon after the results were announced, the IFA said it would be increasing its membership fees by €25 per person and €10 per family.

After the results were announced, the IFA said it would be increasing its membership fees by €25 per person and €10 per family’