Pre-tax profits at the company that operates the Poolbeg incinerator in Dublin last year surged by 80% to €57.4m as the firm benefited from soaring energy prices in 2022.
New accounts show that Dublin Waste to Energy Ltd enjoyed the sharp rise in profits as revenues climbed by 30% from €115.84m to €150.48m.
The pre-tax profits of €57.4m followed pre-tax profits of €31.9m in 2021- an increase of €25.5m.
The facility - which accepts municipal non hazardous waste generated in the Dublin waste management region -has licence to receive up to 600,000 tonnes of waste per annum.
The incinerator uses energy created in the process of burning waste to feed power into the electricity grid and generates enough electricity for up to 100,000 homes.
The directors state that the company has further plans to develop district heating for up to a further 50,000 homes.
The directors state that the company "traded strongly during the year, operating at the capacity permitted for waste incineration with resulting electricity production in line with expectations".
They state that "turnover and resulting profits are consistent with the company's internal forecasts with the increase primarily reflecting movements in electricity market pricing over the year".
The buoyant business enjoyed by the firm last year coincided with the company paying out a dividend of €62.85m - almost three times the €22.3m dividend paid out in 2021.
Dublin Waste to Energy Ltd operates a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Dublin City Council acting on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities and Encyclis in operating the thermal treatment plant.
The facility commenced accepting waste in April 2017 after years of controversy concerning locals’ concerns over the operation of such a facility.
Dublin Waste to Energy Ltd is a subsidiary of Encyclis after it rebranded from Covanta Europe earlier this year.
The Dublin unit last year recorded operating profits of €68.52m and profits were reduced by interest payments of €9.58m and loss on interest rate swaps of €1.16m along with a loss of €365,044 on the disposal of tangible fixed assets.
The company last year recorded a post tax profit of €49.58m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €7.82m. The profit takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €18.19m.
Last year, the plant received 593,156 tonnes of waste compared to 600,302 in 2021 - a decrease of 1.2%.
The energy exported from the plant decreased by 3.1% declining from 473,482MWh to 458,793MWh last year.
The firm had a contractual commitment for rent of €19.5m to Dublin City Council at December 31st 2022.
At the end of December last, the firm had shareholder funds €148.6m that included accumulated profits of €10.89m. The firm's cash funds increased from €37.6m to €42.48m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
