Profits soar five-fold to €1m at family-owned hotel
PRE-TAX profits at the firm that operates the four-star Rochestown Park hotel in Cork increased more than fivefold to €1.087m in 2016.
Accounts filed by Windsor Surprise Ltd to the Companies Office show that revenues increased by 12pc, from €10m to €11.34m in the 12 months to the end of December 2016.
According to the directors’ report, the directors “are pleased with the trading performance for the year and intend to capitalise on positive sales growth to contribute to sustained profitability in the future”.
The pre-tax profits of €1.087m follow pre-tax profits of €217,430 in 2015. On the firm’s future developments, the directors said “the company will continue to consolidate its market share given the economic recovery facing the hotel sector”.
The hotel was established by the Lehane family and it continues to be a strong employer with staff numbers rising by 11 to 210 in 2016.
One of the owners of the hotel, respected Cork businessman Dónal Lehane, died unexpectedly in May of the year under review while on holidays. Mr Lehane developed the hotel with his brother and business partner, Johnny Lehane.
The accounts show that the firm recorded operating profits of €1.75m in 2016 and interest payments of €663,453 resulted in the pretax profits of €1.087m.
The filings show that the business recorded a gross profit of €9.128m that followed a gross profit of €7.96m in 2015.
However, administration expenses of €7.3m resulted in the operating profit of €1.75m. Staff costs increased from €4m to €4.5m in 2016.
The profit in 2016 resulted in shareholder funds totalling €2.9m at the end of December 2016.
The firm’s accumulated profits totalled €1.12m.
The firm’s cash pile rose from €218,141 to €565,220 during the year. The book value of the firm’s tangible assets totalled €27.29m at the end of 2016. During 2016, the amount owed in bank loans reduced from €21.34m to €20.7m while the amount owed to directors increased from €624,000 to €644,800.
According to the directors, the principal risks and uncertainties facing the firm are the downturn in the hotel sector; increase in the cost of borrowing and the breach of banking facilities.
The profit takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €348,447. The company paid out €233,088 for the payment of to acquire fixed assets during 2016 and this followed a payout of €449,578 in 2015. The amount paid to directors remained static at €105,500.