Botox maker paid $8.3bn dividend over two years

A DUBLIN-based subsidiary of the maker of Botox, Allergan, last year paid out dividends of $1.378bn (€1.117bn).

New accounts filed by Forest Laboratories Holdings Ltd disclose the dividend pay-out which followed on from a dividend payout of $7bn in 2018.

The accounts show that $518.6m was paid out in dividends in June 2019 and a further $860m was paid out last December.

The Forest Laboratories holding firm is the intellectual property owner of certain pharmaceutical products and owns the manufacturing rights and distribution rights for certain markets, primarily North America.

The firm - which has its registered office at Clonshaugh Business and Technology Park in Dublin - last year recorded a 69pc increase pre-tax profits to $292m.

This was chiefly due to a €750m payout concerning a legal patent settlement.

Revenues at the company last year increased by 16pc from €1.65bn to €1.92bn.

The directors state that “sales to the market of mature products remained strong throughout the year under review”.

The firm has no employees and the firm paid no corporation tax here last year on its profits. A note attached to the accounts states that “the company is managed and controlled in Bermuda. No charge to Irish corporation tax arises as the company is not resident in Ireland for tax purposes and did not have any Irish source income.”

The profit last year takes account of non-cash amortisation costs of $246.3m and research and development costs of $108.7m. A subsidiary, Forest Laboratories Ireland Ltd manufacturers pharmaceutical products here and last year recorded pre-tax profits of $16.4m as revenues decreased by 33pc from $221.3m to $148.28m.

Numbers employed by the business last year increased from 226 to 250 as staff costs decreased to $20.06m. The directors state that during 2019, the company continued with strong output in both commercial and development product activities contributing significantly to Allergan Plc’s top line revenue number. Accumulated profits at the company totalled €313.2m.

Last year, US drugmaker, AbbVie agreed to purchase Allergen in a $63bn deal. Allergan employs around 1,700 here in Mayo, Dublin and Galway while AbbVie employs some 600 here at sites in Sligo, Cork and Dublin.

No corporation tax is due as it’s not resident here for tax purposes