The Irish arm of global catering, cleaning, facilities, energy, property management and retail firm, Aramark, posted a loss of almost €58m last year.
This was nearly four times larger than the loss recorded in 2019 of €15.6m.
According to accounts just filed with the Companies Registration Office, Aramark Ireland Holdings Ltd had a turnover of €238m, down from €335m a year earlier, mainly due to the pandemic.
When cost of sales, administrative expenses, restructuring and related costs were taken into account, the parent of the Avoca retail chain and Campbell Catering had an operating loss of €58.1m.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell to a loss of €10.7m, from a profit of €3.6m in 2019.
In their report, the directors of the company said the business had been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in the closure of several client sites and a reduction in activity levels in many of those sites remaining open.
"The business has maintained a strong focus on cash generation, and this was achieved mainly through contract negotiations to reflect the difficult trading environment, continued discipline in terms of costs and by availing of various government support schemes," they said
"We have taken the decision to write down the value of the intangibles as a result of a change in various factors including the discount rate used in impairment testing as well as the new growth outlook."
In 2020 intangible assets were worth almost €50m, the accounts show, down from €86m a year earlier.
The company's directors said they acknowledge that although the vaccine prospects are encouraging, they have to continue to take proactive actions to control what is controllable.
"We remain positive about the significant growth opportunities in the market and we believe that Aramark is well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities," the wrote.
The business, which employed 4,587 staff last year, down from 5,240 a year earlier, saw its gross margin decrease from 19% in 2019 to 16.6% last year.
