Symantec's Irish profits tumble
SOFTWARE
Operating profit at the Irish arm of US virus protection software company Symantec tumbled 52pc in its last financial year as its distribution costs rose and currency gains weren't as high.
Accounts just filed for the business -- which produces the popular Norton antivirus software -- show that revenue at the division in the year to April 1 last year rose 5.1pc to €1.43bn.
But the distribution costs increased to €556m from €515m a year earlier, while administrative expenses rose to nearly €152m from €132m.
The Irish unit also recorded a €9.5m impairment during the last financial year.
It wrote €2m off the value of its investment in SoftScan, a Danish software company that Symantec acquired in 2009, for an undisclosed amount.
Symantec also impaired its investment in Belgian firm Datacenter Technologies by €7.3m. Symantec acquired the business in 2005.
Symantec's Irish business also paid €4.8m in corporation tax in the last financial year, compared to €4.3m in the previous period.
The company employs roughly 700 people here.
- John Mulligan
Irish Independent
