Pre-tax profits at the Co Meath based Lir Chocolates last year decreased by 19% to €1.7m due to higher costs.
The German-owned chocolate maker recorded the decrease in pre-tax profits despite revenues rising by €4.3m or by 15% from €29.6m to €33.93m.
As the business recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, numbers employed by Lir Chocolates Ltd last year increased from 193 to 219 as staff costs rose from €7.45m to €8.19m.
The firm last year received zero in Covid-19 wage subsidy payments after receiving a combined €1.3m over the prior Covid-19 hit two prior years.
The firm's cost of sales increased from €22.5m to €26.14m while distribution costs rose from €1.89m to €2.3m and administrative expenses increased from €3.3m to €4m.
During the year under review in August of last year, Connie Doody, the pioneering Irish businesswoman who co-founded Lir Chocolates died at the age of 76.
Lir Chocolates is part of the German based ZRT and the directors state that the business was impacted by "a sharp rise in energy costs" and "bottlenecks in the availability of materials".
The directors state that there was also "increasing price sensitivity on the consumer side".
They note that "group wide, further increases in material and production costs may be expected. On the other hand, these are to be countered by passing on costs to consumers through higher sales prices, and on the other hand, by increasing efficiency".
They also state that the group continues to have significant cash resources and to trade profitably.
The company's UK business increased from €20.19m to €21.7m while the company’s Irish revenues increased from €2.2m to €2.89m last year.
The company’s 'rest of world' revenues also increased by 30% from €7.18m to €9.32m.
The business last year recorded operating profits of €1.5m and profits increased to a pre-tax profit of €1.7m after benefiting from €199,699 received in finance income.
Directors’ pay last year decreased by 30% from €588,682 to €408,270.
The company’s profits last year take account of non-cash depreciation costs of €1m.
At the end of December last, the company had shareholder funds of €10.55m that included accumulated profits of €5.6 million.
The company's cash funds decreased from €8m to €5.5m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
