Profits at discounter Eurogiant slip 13pc to €831k
PRE-TAX profits at the firm behind discount retailer Eurogiant fell 13pc to €831,300 last year as turnover at the group declined to €66.9m from €67.2m, newly filed accounts show.
The company operates more than 80 outlets around the country.
Owned by Charlie O’Loughlin, he opened his first outlet on Moore Street in Dublin in 1990.
The chain sells a broad range of products, from household goods to confectionery and novelty products.
The company behind it also operates as a wholesaler to other retailers and employs more than 600 people.
The profit generated in the 12 months to May 2019 brought accumulated profits at the business to €20.3m, the latest accounts show. They also reveal that the business generated €2.3m in cash during the financial year, compared with a cash outflow of €402,000 in the previous 12 months.
“The directors consider the results for the year and the position of the group at the balance sheet date to be satisfactory,” the accounts noted.
Gross margins stood at 44.1pc in the last financial year, a decline on the 45.5pc margin recorded in the previous period.
The company’s distribution costs hit just under €14m last year, up from €13.6m a year earlier. Its administrative expenses fell to €14.6m from €16.1m.
“The group maintains significant levels of stock as part of its operations,” the accounts for the company noted. “Stock control procedures are in place to minimise the risk of obsolescence.”
The most recent figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that retail sales jumped 3.2pc in December compared with the same month a year earlier.
Business lobby group Ibec said last week that “intense competition” in the retail sector was keeping a lid on retail prices, but that cost pressures were rising for employers.
Ibec’s Retail Ireland unit said CSO data showed that costs rose 1.3pc across the economy last year, but that prices fell for almost all retail categories.
The price of toiletries was down 2.6pc, while personal and home computer prices declined 7.2pc. But the price of petrol was 9.9pc higher, while the price of cigarettes and tobacco was up 6.4pc.