Belfast music legend Van Morrison reaped a dividend from the re-opening of the live music industry last year as accumulated profits at his music firm increased by £572,316 (€647,577).
New accounts filed by Morrison’s Exile Productions Ltd show that accumulated profits increased by £572,316 from £7.258 million to £7.83 million (€8.85 million) in the 12 months to the end of April 30th, 2022.
The company’s cash funds increased from £6.65 million to £6.77 million during the same period.
The firm's profits jumping by £572,316 last year coincided with the live entertainment music business re-opening with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
Gigs last year at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and in the UK, Spain, Holland and Austria boosted the company's coffers.
The increase in profits followed a £834,877 decline at the firm in the prior year.
The £834,877 drop in profits covered the first year of the pandemic. The 77-year-old singer-songwriter found himself at the centre of controversy during the early stages of pandemic over a series of anti Covid-19 lockdown tunes and statements.
Despite the controversy, Mr Morrison’s appeal endures and two gigs planned for the Olympia Theatre in Dublin at the end of this month are sold out.
As part of a European tour, the Brown Eyed Girl singer will also play gigs at Lucerne, Antwerp, Brussels and Cascais in Portugal across April and July.
The accounts — signed off by Ivan Morrison on January 20th — state that during the year a director’s loan of £34,153 was repaid in full before the end of January this year.
The abridged accounts for the Morrison firm don’t reveal the revenues recorded by the firm during the year.
There are four people employed at the firm, the same amount at the company in the 2021 fiscal year. The profit takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of £48,350.
Knighted in 2016 for his musical achievements and services to tourism and charitable causes in Northern Ireland, Morrison's output shows no sign of slowing down. He is set to release his latest studio album, Moving on Skiffle, on March 10th.
The intensely private Morrison has received widespread acclaim over his long career including six Grammy Awards, a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, being inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
