Pre-tax profits at the firm which operates the five star Powerscourt hotel resort near Enniskerry in Co Wicklow last year almost doubled to €2m.
New accounts at hotel firm, Sugarloaf Ventures Ltd show that the company recorded the 90% increase in pre-tax profits after revenues rose by 14% from €23.16m to €26.42m.
The resort is part of the MHL Collection, a consortium led by US billionaire John Malone, and was purchased for over €50m in 2019.
The MHL Collection was formed by its three partners, Mr Malone, Paul Higgins and John Lally.
The collection comprises eight hotels in Dublin and one in each of Galway and Limerick along with Powerscourt in Co Wicklow. In addition, MHL manages two sister hotels in Galway.
The MHL Hotel Collection is the second largest hotel group in Dublin city with over 1,450 five and four star bedrooms. Overall, the MHL Hotel Collection manages over 2,300 bedrooms in the four cities and counties in which it operates.
The directors state that the company's hotel operations are dependent on the Wicklow hotel market.
They state that "while the market performed in line with expectations, any slowdown in business levels could have a material impact on the hotel performance".
Numbers employed by the five-star Powerscourt business last year increased from 235 to 297 with 276 in 'operational’, 15 in ‘other administration’ and six in finance.
Staff costs increased from €8.48m to €9.72m.
A breakdown of the Powerscourt hotel's revenues show that accommodation income increased from €12.26m to €13.7m while ‘food and bar’ income increased from €8.27m to €9.05m and ‘other’ income rose from €2.62m to €3.66m.
The hotel firm’s profits last year took account of non-cash depreciation costs of €1.14m and operating lease rentals of €3.13m.
The company’s gross profit increased from €12.19m to €14.2m after cost of sales rose from €10.96m to €12.18m
The firm recorded post tax profits of €1.84m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €167,000.
At the end of December last, the firm had a shareholders’ deficit of €512,294. The firm’s cash funds decreased from €11.18m to €5.27m.
Separate accounts for another MHL collection, the Trinity City hotel on Dublin’s Pearse Street show that it recorded pre-tax profits of €4.75m in 2023.
This followed revenues at Trinity Leisure Holdings Ltd increasing by 19% from €14m to €16.77m. Numbers employed increased from 87 to 128 and staff costs totalled €3.48m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
