The .ie Domain Registry (IEDR) has reported after-tax profits of €734,058 for the year ended 31 December 2006, down 15pc from €864,846 the previous year while registration income decreased by 2pc despite a 30pc increase in registrations to 70,000.
The organisation responsible for Ireland’s flagship domain said it made a turnover of €2.3m and out of this achieved operating profits of €734,000.
Registrations of the .ie domain increased 30pc during 2006. However, the organisation saw revenues from registrations decline 2pc in 2006, despite price reductions of 26pc last year.
The organisation said that the 26pc price reduction in 2006 meant that the price of a .ie domain fell by 50pc since 2003.
Administration expenses of €654,000, the IEDR said, decreased by 7pc and employment costs increased 30pc to almost €780,000.
IEDR chief executive David Curtin said that the IEDR maintained its status in the Irish market despite the launch of .eu domains in April last year.
“2007 will bring further growth and development for the .ie domain namespace and we will continue to enhance the service we offer to the local internet community, providing further automation of our processes for resellers to help further reduce their costs as .ie registrations increase,” Curtin said.
In its current trading outlook, IEDR said that volume registration in early 2007 continues to grow strongly and is 27pc ahead of the same period last year.
In March, registrations exceeded 2,700 in a month and the IEDR surpassed 75,000 registrations. A further price reduction in IEDR domain registration came into effect on 1 January.
By John Kennedy