Directors at the country's largest architectural practice, Henry J Lyons took an aggregate €1m hit to pay last year as business slumped.
New consolidated accounts filed by Henry J Lyons (Architects) Ltd show that the group recorded a pre-tax loss of €135,269 as revenues declined by 18% or €6.6m from €36.64m to €30.07m for the 12 months to the end of September last.
The drop in revenues coincided with a sharp slowing down in Dublin’s office market and An Bord Pleanála phasing out the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) system which boosted the group’s and other architectural firm’s revenues in recent years.
The pre-tax loss of €135,269 followed a pre-tax of €312,501 in the prior year - a negative swing of €447,770.
The firm is the designer of the new Clery’s Quarter on Dublin’s O’Connell Street along with the Central Bank HQ on North Wall Quay and the Google Flour Mills at the Google Boland Mills Campus.
Other projects include One Molesworth Street, Tropical Fruit Warehouse, Sandyford Centre, One Lime Street, Central Plaza on Dame Street and LinkedIn One Wilton Park.
The 10 directors of the company own the firm and as business slowed down last year, the directors took a €1m pay hit as aggregate pay, including pension contributions, declined from €3.82m to €2.76m.
Directors’ emoluments reduced by €937,000 from €3.476m to €2.539m as pension contributions declined by €123,920 from €348,440 to €224,520.
Numbers employed at the firm also reduced by 28 from 303 to 275 as the number of architects reduced by 29 from 270 to 241 offset by an increase of one person employed in administration to 34.
The directors state that "the trading results for the year and the financial position at year end were considered satisfactory by the directors".
The group recorded a post tax loss of €228,444 after incurring a corporation tax charge of €93,175.
The loss last year takes account of non-cash amortisation and non-cash depreciation costs of €762,779. The group’s net cash from operating activities last year totalled €720,985.
A breakdown of revenues show that €29.09m was generated in the Republic of Ireland and €985,030 in the Rest of World.
In the year under review, the group purchased the share capital of NODA - Nikki O’Donnell Architects Ltd.
The group’s balance sheet shows that accumulated profits at the end of September last totalled €6.6m while the group’s cash funds reduced from €10.95m to €9.48m.
