A €46.49 million tax bill arising from the EU windfall energy tax contributed to Corrib field shareholder Nephin Energy recording a post-tax loss of €17.14 million last year.
Nephin Energy Holdings Ltd holds a 43.5 per cent share in the Corrib Gas Field and revenues last year plummeted by 42 per cent from €332.73 million to €193.48 million due mainly to plunging gas prices in 2023.
The Dublin registered company last year approved a dividend of €100 million that included €50m payable at the year-end.
The accounts show that in a post balance sheet event, the board approved a €50m dividend in May 2024.
The firm’s pre-tax profits reduced by 49 per cent from €225.2 million to €115.25 million.
However, company - which is owned by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board - recorded the post tax loss of €17.14m after enjoying a post tax profit of €260.7 million in 2022 - a negative swing of €277.84 million.
The €260.7 million post tax profit in 2022 included a corporation tax credit of €35.4 million.
All Nephin Energy revenues arose from natural gas sales and the company is also engaged in using anaerobic digestion to convert agri-waste to renewable energy.
The post-tax loss of €17.14 million last year arose from a corporation tax charge of €132.39 million.
This comprised €46.49 million in the EU windfall energy tax or the Temporary Solidarity Contribution and deferred tax of €85.2 million.
The Temporary Solidarity Contribution was introduced as an emergency intervention by the EU in October 2022 to address high energy prices as a result of the war in Ukraine with consumers being hit by much higher bills for gas and electricity.
At the time, the Government here estimated that the tax will raise in the range of €200 million to €450 million.
In July, the High Court here referred a legal challenge by Vermilion, operator of the Corrib gas field, against the energy-sector windfall gains tax to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU).
The pre-tax profit for Nephin Energy Holdings Ltd last year also takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €48.57 million.
Numbers employed increased from six to 11 as staff costs rose from €1.65 million to €2.86 million.
Pay to directors increased by 30 per cent from €1.08 million to €1.4 million.
The group’s consolidated accounts show that shareholder funds decreased from €629.7m to €449.46m last year. Cash funds declined from €151.3 million to €117.54 million.
On behalf of Vermilion, Michael Cush SC told the High Court in July that there were serious upfront costs of some €3.65 billion in opening the Corrib field, the only active natural gasfield in the State.
Corrib came on stream in December 2015 and, in 2021, the year before the adoption of EU regulation, Vermilion had losses of €1.6 billion, he said.
Under Irish tax law, energy companies can carry forward losses against future trading profits indefinitely.
The €3.6 billion outlay in the project before gas started to flow was more than four times the original estimate of €800 million.
