Dunnes Stores’ UK unit makes return to profit
THE main UK arm of retail giant Dunnes Stores last year returned to profit, recording a pre-tax profit of £700,000 (€779,000).
The family-owned Irish retailer in 2018 shut down all of its stores in England and Scotland, but continues to operate in Northern Ireland, where it has 15 stores.
The Dunnes Stores (Bangor) Ltd firm covers the activities of Dunnes in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland.
Its accounts show that revenues at the company last year declined by 5pc to £107.23m, from the revenues of £113.43m recorded in the prior 53-week period.
The number of people employed fell to 1,110 from 1,230, and staff costs reduced to £16.8m from £17.17m. Staff fees last year included redundancy costs of £267,000, and this followed costs under the same heading of £132,000 in 2017.
The £700,000 pre-tax profit followed a pre-tax loss of £23.04m in 2017, which largely arose from a non-cash impairment of £18.29m. Last year, the Dunnes Stores (Bangor) firm recorded a post-tax profit of £1.597m, after receiving a corporation tax credit of £897,000.
The most recent Kantar Worldpanel survey shows that Dunnes Stores has the largest share of the grocery sector in Ireland, at 22.2pc, gaining 38,000 shoppers over the survey period, compared with the corresponding period in 2018.
The accounts for the UK operation show that it paid a dividend of £481,000 last year, and this followed a dividend payout of £4.79m in 2017.
The pre-tax figure also takes into account non-cash depreciation costs of £4.45m, along with foreign exchange gains of £2.76m.
The business recorded a £2.1m gain from the sale of fixed assets.
At the end of last year, the company’s accumulated profits stood at £48.2m, while its cash pile declined to £23.5m from £39.46m.
The company’s cost of sales last year decreased to £81m from £87.36m, with operating expenses decreasing to £25.95m from £31.37m.
Dunnes is one of the largest employers in Ireland, with the business operating 114 stores here.
The company had estimated revenues of €3.6bn in 2017 across the entire group, while employing 14,000 people.
Last December, Mandate confirmed that staff at Dunnes were to receive a 3pc rise, resulting in a cumulative 18pc increase over six years.
The first Dunnes Stores outlet was opened by store founder, the late Ben Dunne, on Cork’s Patrick Street in 1944.