Profit at the maker of the James Bond films fell by three-quarters last year as it went another year without a new blockbuster release in the multibillion-dollar 007 franchise.
Eon Productions, which is headquartered at Pinewood Studios in the countryside west of London, reported pre-tax profits of £224,985 last year.
That is well down on the £900,879 that the firm controlled by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson reported in 2022.
Eon is yet to name the successor to Daniel Craig as James Bond. Craig last appeared as Bond in 2021’s No Time to Die, and the franchise is facing the third-longest break between film releases in its 62-year history.
Despite the drop in profits, Broccoli and Wilson took home £3.7m in remuneration, and the company also paid them a £600,000 dividend, with the directors describing the results as “more than satisfactory”.
Eon Productions made £2.3m in post-tax profits thanks to a tax credit of £2.1m. The company’s revenues increased a healthy 40% year on year, from £15.8m to £22m, thanks to its other production and commercial enterprises including a “substantial merchandising contract agreed in 2017”.
However, the scale of the revenues pales into comparison with its performance when a Bond film is released. Revenues hit £234m in 2021 when No Time to Die was released.
Eon has also produced movies such as Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (2017) and Till (2022), while its theatre productions have included Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Othello and Macbeth.
“The results for the year were considered more than satisfactory by the directors,” the company said. “The directors consider the results of the group for the year to be in line with expectations with the continued revenue generated by the group’s films.”
Earlier this month, London-based 72 Films, the maker of the 007: Road to a Million reality TV competition, reported a pre-tax profit of £4.7m for the nine months to the end of December. The company, which is part of Fremantle Media, reported revenues of £26.4m.
