Company strikes up research partnerships in Israel and South Korea.

EIRIS, the London-based ethical research firm, says it has increased its client base despite reporting a sharply lower pre-tax profit for 2009, company filings show. Net profit last year fell to £77,868 (€95,035) from £246,391 in 2008, with turnover [revenue] down 0.8% at £3,233,084.
EIRIS is wholly owned by the EIRIS Foundation, a charity working in responsible investment, and the company made an annual Gift Aid payment to the charity of £55,559 in 2009, down from 2008’s £173,196. Commenting in its latest accounts, the company said: “The continued growth in the client base during 2009 has been particularly welcome in the light of the difficulties faced by the financial services industry in this period.” The company reported reported two director changes during the year: YeIona Hill resigned as a director in December while Richard Stroud was appointed in September.
Meanwhile, the EIRIS Foundation itself has disclosed that EIRIS has set up research and sales

partnerships with Greeneye in Israel and KOCSR in South Korea, giving it access to environmental, social and governance (ESG) coverage on 40 Israeli and 100 South Korean firms.
Eiris said the relaunch of its web site in October 2009 had led to a dramatic increase in the number of visits, while its retail focused site: www.yourethicalmoney.org site is achieving around 1,700 hits per month, it said. 
Elsewhere, the annual accounts of environmental data provider, Trucost, have revealed a £2.14m net loss in 2009, against 2008’s £2.03m loss. However, the accounts showed business revenue up 11% at £1.58m in what the company said was “a very difficult year for business in general”.
Trucost said it had developed its marketing strategy during the year to work more in partnership with organisations that embed its data into their own products and services. It revealed it has 20 such deals, with firms such as Standard & Poor’s, UBS, Northern Trust, Deutsche Bank and the Carbon Disclosure Project.