The firm that operates the National Car Test (NCT) last year clocked up weekly revenues of €1.52 million, new figures show.
However, increased costs at Applus Car Testing Service Ltd contributed to pre-tax profits decreasing by 34% to €4.99 million.
Applus recorded the decrease in pre-tax profits as revenues increased by 1.6% from €77.8 million to €79.04 million.
The company's cost base increased by 6% from €71 million to €75.25 million last year.
The chief factor behind the increase in revenues was €1.2 million generated from the National Standards Authority of Ireland that did not occur in 2017.
Revenue from National Car Testing declined from €71.82 million to €71.38 million following a decline in the number of tests carried out last year.
Figures published by the NCT show that the number of tests carried out last year totalled 2.023 million.
1.34 million of those were full tests; the remaining 680,763 were re-tests.
The directors state that the number of vehicles tested in 2018 was ahead of the company's 10 year business plan and that productivity remained consistent with previous years.
The company also generated €2.2 million in revenues from other ancillary income and €4 million from VRT Import Conformance Inspection.
The company last year paid a dividend of €5.7 million. That followed a dividend payout of €8.3 million in 2017.
The national car test was introduced in 2000 on foot of an EU directive. Applus has been operating the NCT since 2010 and the contract expires next June.
The directors state that they are in the process of re-tendering for the contract with the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
The current cost of a full test is €55 and a re-test costs €28.
The company recorded an operating profit of €3.86 million and finance income of €1.12 million resulted in the pre-tax profit of €4.99 million.
Remuneration for the firm’s directors last year totalled €247,013.
The firm’s retained earnings at the end of December last stood at €7.2 million. The accounts show that after paying corporation tax of €796,000 the firm recorded after tax profits of €4.19 million.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
