The main Irish arm of Coca Cola injected some fizz into its profits last year as pre-tax profits increased by 9% to €32m.
New accounts for the Irish unit of Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, which distributes Coke, Monster products, other soft drinks, water and other products here, show that the firm achieved the increase in pre-tax profits as revenues surged by 22% or by €51.37m from €232.89m to €284.26m.
The pre-tax profits of €32m at Dublin-based Coca-Cola HBC Ireland Ltd followed pre-tax profits of €29.36m in 2021.
The strong profits of the past two years coincided with the Coca-Cola HB Irish unit paying out dividends of €30m in 2022 and €30m in 2021.
The dividends were paid to immediate parent firm, Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland Ltd, where the dividends received contributed to pre-tax profits at the Lisburn based business totalling £37.63m last year.
Revenues at the NI arm increased by 23% from £236.46m to £291.22m in 2022 and the accounts show that the NI firm's revenues from the Republic of Ireland rose from £103.57m to £138.56m through inter-company sales.
Sounding an upbeat note on the future developments of the Dublin based unit, the directors for Coca-Cola HBC Ireland Ltd state that "the company continues to both expand the reach of established brands to consumers and launch new brand extensions and continued package innovation".
The directors for the Dublin firm state its products "cater to a growing range of tastes with a wider choice of healthier options".
A note adds later that "more recently the company has created a 24/7 portfolio expanding into premium spirits and also expanding into the coffee segment".
The company recorded a post tax profit of €27.99m after incurring a €4m corporation tax charge.
Numbers employed by the company last year increased by three from 256 to 259 and staff costs rose from €20.68m to €21.02m.
A breakdown of the numbers employed show that 206 were employed in sales and marketing, 33 in administration and 20 in warehousing and distribution.
The pay package to directors last year rose by 45% from €1.24m to €1.8m - mainly made up of emoluments and pension contributions for management services of €1.65m.
The company's cost of sales last year increased from €149.7m to €190.16m while sales and marketing expenses rose from €28m to €29.99m. The firm's administrative expenses totalled €16.55m while distribution costs amounted to €15.6m.
The Dublin firm recorded an operating profit of €31.93m and net interest payments received of €85,000 resulted in the pre-tax profit of €32m.
The €30m dividend pay-out offset by the post tax profits of €27.99m resulted in the company having shareholder funds of €42.75m at the end of December last.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
