Irish Independent

Smyths Toys declares €44.39m dividends for 2020

- Gordon Deegan

THE Smyths Toys retail empire recorded sales of almost €1bn across Ireland and the UK in 2019.

New accounts filed by the Galway-headquarte­red Smyths Toys Unlimited showed stores in the Republic recorded revenues of €220m in 2019.

This follows separate accounts for the company’s Northern Ireland and UK entities earlier this week confirming combined revenues of €737m for 2019.

The revenues for the three companies total a record

Prior to Covid the firm was performing strongly

22pc to €4.4m in 2019.

The drop in profit followed revenues declining by 3pc to €220m from €226.9m.

The company operates 21 stores in the Republic, showing average store revenues of €10.47m – or just over €200,000 per week for 2019.

The Irish operation’s workforce increased by 17 to 641 in 2019 as staff costs increased marginally from €14.3m to €14.4m. The company’s opening lease costs totalled €6.8m and non-cash depreciati­on costs came to €1.6m.

On the impact of Covid-19, the directors said that up to March 2020 the company had been performing strongly.

The directors said the company operated at a reduced capacity to June 2020 before reopening.

The company’s bricks-andmortar stores are closed once more in Level 5 restrictio­ns but the business continues to sell online.

On the group’s future developmen­ts, the directors said the company continues to review further appropriat­e sites to expand the business.

It is led by the four Smyth brothers – Anthony, Liam, Patrick and Thomas – and pay to directors is paid by another Smyths Toys entity.

The firm’s accumulate­d profits in 2019 decreased to €17m after the dividend payout.

 ??  ?? €957m for 2019 without taking account of the toy brand’s revenues in Germany, Austria and Switzerlan­d.
Accounts for the company’s Irish-based operation, Smyths Toys Unlimited Company show that it declared a dividend of €10m in February of last year. This followed a dividend payout of €14m in 2019.
The €10m dividend coincided with the company’s UK operation declaring a £31m (€34.39m) dividend, resulting in combined dividends totalling €44.39m for 2020.
Pre-tax profits at Smyths Toys Unlimited decreased by
Retail:
€957m for 2019 without taking account of the toy brand’s revenues in Germany, Austria and Switzerlan­d. Accounts for the company’s Irish-based operation, Smyths Toys Unlimited Company show that it declared a dividend of €10m in February of last year. This followed a dividend payout of €14m in 2019. The €10m dividend coincided with the company’s UK operation declaring a £31m (€34.39m) dividend, resulting in combined dividends totalling €44.39m for 2020. Pre-tax profits at Smyths Toys Unlimited decreased by Retail:

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