Trinity College Dublin records €17.3m net surplus in 2025
Kenneth Fox
Trinity College Dublin (TCD) last year recorded an expected net surplus of €17.3 million before unrealised net gains.
That is according to newly released meeting minutes of the TCD Finance Committee which heard that the expected €17.3 million net surplus for the 12 months to the end of September last was ahead of budget by €2 million.
Provost, Dr Linda Doyle is the chair of the TCD Finance Committee and was present at the meeting to hear that “the improvement in performance reflects growth in income, primarily from philanthropic donations, academic fees, and growth in Endowment Fund income”.
Under the heading of 'Financial and Performance Highlights', the minutes record on TCD's draft financial figures for 2025 show that the overall surplus for the year was €33.7 million after taking into account unrealised net gains.
This was 33 per cent down on the total surplus of €50.2 million for the prior year.
A report put before the meeting stated that the €33.7 million net surplus reflects unrealised gains and committed funding rather than generally available resources, with €16.8 million arising from gains on the value of investments and a further €7.8 million ring-fenced for the Old Library Redevelopment Project (OLRD).
The committee was told that full-year income and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) “are both ahead of budget and prior year”.
The committee also noted that operating costs increased year-on-year, with non-pay costs ahead of budget, driven by increases across several cost categories, "highlighting the need for a continued focus on cost management".
Separately, new accounts show that the firm commercialising the TCD brand last year made a donation of €2.17 million to Trinity College Dublin.
The €2.17 million donation made in the 12 months to the end of September last was 55 per cent ahead of the €1.4 million donation made to Trinity Foundation in the prior year.
New accounts for Trinity Brand Commercial Services Limited to the end of last September show that it recorded a pre-donation profit of €2.26m, which was almost triple the €784,621 pre-donation profit made in 2023/24 year.
The directors state that the pre-donation profit of €2.26 million
was “driven by increased commercial activity and positive impact of visitor numbers on the TCD campus”.
The firm increased its donation despite revenues decreasing by 20pc from €10.3 million to €8.27 million.
The principal activity of the company is the commercialisation of the Trinity College Dublin brand and intellectual property.
The revenues were mainly made up of €5.49 million in management services and €2.38 million in sales of goods and ticket sales.
The €2.38 million relates mainly to Trinity Trails campus tours plus sales of Trinity-branded merchandise through non-retail channels.
Numbers employed by the company last year remained at 30 that included 13 employed in Trinity Trails. Staff costs increased from €1.99 million to €2.1 million.
