The operator of the Mount Jerome Crematorium at Harold's Cross in Dublin last year recorded post tax profits of €646,838.
The post tax profits of €646,838 recorded by the Alan Massey-owned Orlette Ltd in the 12 months to the end of November last are down 9.5% on the post tax profits of €714,136 recorded in 2021.
In 2021, the privately owned crematorium firm paid out €5.1 million dividend to Mr Massey’s Toprise Associates Ltd after consistently strong profits at Orlette over recent years.
The profits of the last two years at Orlette follow profits of €519,569 in 2020, €510,673 in 2019 and €424,992 in 2018.
The €646,838 post tax profits of last year resulted in accumulated profits increasing from €1.44 million to €2.08 million last year.
The firm’s cash funds more than doubled from €598,945 to €1.33m.
The post tax profit for the Mount Jerome operator last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €120,993.
Numbers employed by the business total 12. Mount Jerome was the first privately owned cemetery in Ireland, when it first opened in 1836 and was also the first privately owned crematorium in Ireland in 2000
Separate accounts for another crematorium operator, the Shannon Crematorium show that it recorded post tax profits of €394,943 in the 12 months to the end of June 2022.
The €394,943 for Anput Ltd is a 40% increase on the post tax profits of €282,425. The firm’s cash funds decreased from €1.03m to €769,502 during the year.
The business of all crematorium operators and funeral directors across the country was boosted by an increase in the number of deaths in Ireland in 2022.
Figures provided by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that there were 35,477 deaths registered in 2022, which was a 2,422 or 7% increase on the 33,055 deaths recorded in 2021.
The lucrative 'death' business recently resulted in the owners of Citywest, Tetrarch subsidiary Cape Wrath UC securing the green light for a €20m plan for a 8,047 burial plot cemetery on a 33 acre site on the grounds of a former 18 hole golf course at City West.
Another Tetrarch firm, WSHI Unlimited Co was refused planning permission last month for a 5,806 plot cemetery forDeer Park within the Howth Estate in Howth and the cemetery had the potential to deliver €13m in revenues.
Lucrative profits for crematorium firms are not confined to those companies dealing with humans. A Co Meath firm, PawPrints Cremation Ltd - which cremates pets - recorded post tax profits of€262,003 in 2021.
The Trim based firm had €100,000 in dividends payable at the end of December 2021. The profit of €263,003 took account of non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €87,980.
