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.io sales almost double over three years
The .io ccTLD continues to be a cash cow, with sales up 6.70% in 2024, according to the registry’s latest financial filing.
The company also faced its largest-ever UK tax bill last year, at a time when the future of .io came under sharp focus due to the imminent dissolution of the British Indian Ocean Territory to which .io is assigned.
UK-based Internet Computer Bureau last month reported revenue for 2024 of £31.6 million ($42.4 million), up from £29.6 million ($39.7 million) in 2023. Revenue has grown 93% since 2021, mostly due to a spike in 2022.
While ICB, an Identity Digital subsidiary, also runs .ac and .sh, the vast majority of its business is certainly in .io, a popular ccTLD with tech start-ups.
The company is essentially a single-employee shell, structured to pass the vast majority of its revenue to US-based parent Identity Digital. Its gross margins are barely 4%, an implausibly low number for a .com-comparable, high-volume registry business.
ICB reported operating profit for 2024 of £1.6 million ($2.1 million), reversing a loss of £1.7 million in 2023. But its bottom line was bolstered by £2 million of unspecified investment income, leading to profit after tax of £2.8 million ($3.7 million).
The UK tax bill was almost three times as large as any previous year at £807,000 ($1 million) seemingly due to this investment income.
The future of .io is still ambiguous, after the UK and Mauritius signed a treaty to transfer sovereignty over BIOT, which is also known as the Chagos Archipelago. Implementation of the treaty is currently being enacted by both countries’ legislatures.
A UK diplomatic team recently met with Mauritius’ prime minister to discuss the transfer of power, and the discussions reportedly touched on the “domaine Internet”.
A Mauritian newspaper reported that the discussions covered “l’avenir du domaine Internet, qui représente un enjeu économique intéressant pour Maurice”, which could translate as “the future of the Internet domain — which represents an interesting economic opportunity for Mauritius”.
The industry trend at the moment is for the governments of countries with popular ccTLDs to put the squeeze on their registry operators, but neither the UK nor Mauritius has a direct governance or contractual relationship with .io.
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