Pre-tax profits at the UK nursing home group owned by three Irish businessmen last year increased seven fold to £31.84m or €36.67m.
New accounts filed by Barchester Healthcare Ltd show that the business recorded the sharp rise in pre-tax profits as revenues increased by £90.9m or 13.4% from £675.9m to £766.76m or €883.23m.
The group is co-owned by three of Ireland's best known and most successful businessmen, JP McManus, John Magnier and Dermot Desmond.
Barchester is the UK's second largest nursing home operator and provides 14,072 registered beds across its portfolio of 215 registered services with the largest proportion located within London and the south east of England.
The pre-tax profits of £31.84m follow pre-tax profits of £4.06m for 2021 - an increase of 684%.
Numbers employed at the group declined from 14,962 to 14,947 last year.
In his report, group chairman, John Coleman said that the group "traded strongly throughout 2022 and life in our services returned to normality following the Covid-19 pandemic".
He said: "Enquiries for places in the care homes and hospitals were in excess of pre-pandemic levels and occupancy levels increased levels increased steadily from April onwards."
The separate directors’ report states that the increase in revenues "was driven by an increase in occupancy and fee rate inflation".
The group’s earnings before interest tax depreciation amortisation and rent (EBITDAR) last year increased from £216.8m to £239.6m.
The directors state that the rise was driven by the increase in occupancy, fee rate inflation along with "gains in labour efficiency offset by increases to labour pay rates, agency usage and other home and central costs".
The group recorded operating profits of £64.17m and interest charges of £32.32m reduced profits to a pre-tax profits of £31.84m.
The group benefited from £16.68m in 'other operating income’ made up of Government grants that included £14.4m from the State Infection Control Fund and £2.3m in local Covid support.
The directors state that the larger Covid-19 related costs that the group incurred during the year included £16.1m across agency and recruitment to maintain staff rotas, £4.5m in sick pay and £2.5m in PPE.
The group last year recorded post tax profits of £21.9m after incurring a corporation tax charge of £9.93m.
Staff costs last year increased by £5m rising from £389.96m to £395m. Directors' pay increased by £1m from £1.96m to £2.97m. Pay to the highest paid director last year almost doubled from £898,000 to £1.73m.
The profit takes account of non-cash depreciation, amortisation and impairment costs of £41m.
The profits also take account of operating lease expense of £131.48m
The business continued to expand last year and the accounts show that the group paid out £30.84m on the acquisition of assets.
At the end of December last, shareholder funds totalled £202.37m that included accumulated profits of £182.63m. Cash funds declined marginally from £25.54m to £24.25m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
