Remote workers and "lockdown consumers" here last year helped coffee retailer, Nespresso brew up record Irish revenues.
New accounts filed by Nespresso UK Ltd show that its Irish sales increased by £456,000 from £28.7m to a record £29.15m (€33.99m) for the 12 months to the end of December.
The Nestle-owned Nespresso operates a number of boutique outlets here, including a flagship store on Dublin's Duke Street and the Irish business last year translates to average weekly revenues of £560,711 (€653,844).
The sales of Nespresso in 2021 were boosted by the Covid-19 pandemic enforced shutdowns of dine-in restaurants and cafes for part of the year.
The directors state that growth at the company "was boosted by e-commerce and the Virtuo system".
According to the directors, sales growth was also boosted by "a high demand from lockdown consumers and all those working from home as well as a continued increase in consumer awareness for quality coffee and increased brand awareness for Nespresso".
Underlining the growth of Nespresso here, the sales last year of £29.14m are almost double Nespresso's sales here in 2016 of £14.7m.
The directors state that Covid-19 continued to be a challenge throughout 2021.
The directors state that despite the health emergency at the May 2022 date of signing the financial statements "the company continues to maintain a strong position and performance financially".
The Irish revenues of £29.15m make up 5.8% of the overall UK and Irish revenues of £308.22 million.
The company’s UK revenues last year increased by £20m to £279m.
The company’s pre-tax profits last year increased by 4% to £12.2m. It recorded post tax profits of £9.83m after paying corporation tax of £2.37m.
The directors are recommending a final dividend of £9.8m for 2021 and this followed a final dividend of £8.7m in 2020.
On the impact of Brexit on the business, the directors state that "the legacy of Brexit remains with additional costs in the supply chain".
The profit takes account of non-cash depreciation and impairment costs of tangible fixed assets of £13.3m.
Numbers employed across the UK and Irish operation reduced from 783 to 684 and staff costs totalled £31.1m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
