The main Irish arm of technology behemoth, Apple, saw a surge in profits last year, as indicated by recent financial statements, with the firm successfully reigning in expenditure.
The statements, which covered the period until 30th September 2023, revealed that the turnover at Apple Operations International – based at the Apple premises in Holyhill, Co Cork – dipped slightly by 1.8% to $218.9 billion (€203 billion), decreasing from $222.8 billion the preceding year. The subsidiary experienced a pre-tax profit amounting to $71.1 billion, a rise compared to $69 billion in the year prior.
The net income saw growth too, reaching $62.3 billion for the term, up from $58.2 billion in the previous year.
Apple Operations International oversees most of Apple’s non-US branches and manages a vast spectrum of products and services, from iPhones and Macs to wearables. The subsidiary employs nearly 60,000 staff globally, more than 6,700 of which are based in Ireland.
The financial statements reflected a tax provision of $8.8 billion, a reduction from $11.08 billion in 2022, with the corporation tax set at 12.5%, and a $8.9 billion levy largely identical to the previous year. The subsidiary also reported a gain exceeding $1 billion owing to uncertain tax circumstances.
In 2023, Apple’s Irish division paid $20.7 billion in dividends to its parent organisation, equivalent to the figure in 2022.
Apple has been embroiled in a public dispute concerning a 2016 decision by the European Commission that deemed Apple liable to pay billions in retrospective taxes. The amount to be recuperated was determined to be €13.1 billion in back taxes, coupled with €1.2 billion in interest. Both Apple and the Irish Government contested the decision, leading the General Court to revoke the ruling on state funding. Currently, the commission is challenging that verdict in the European Court of Justice.