Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of US fast food giant McDonald's in 2023 decreased by 16% to €36.32m.
New accounts for McDonald's Restaurants of Ireland Ltd show that pre-tax profits decreased as revenues rose by 6% from €80.56m to €85.65m in 2023.
The company operated no McDonald's outlets during the year and generated its revenues from amounts charged to franchisees with the number of franchisee restaurants increasing by one to 95 in 2023.
2023 was the first full year that McDonalds did not operate its own restaurant here after the last owner-operated McDonald's switched to a franchised operation at Dublin airport on February 28, 2022.
The move to exit the owner-operator model here came 45 years after McDonalds opened its first fast food restaurant in Ireland on Dublin's Grafton Street.
The fast food brand is currently expanding and has planning applications for new restaurants before local authorities in counties Tipperary, Wexford and Westmeath.
The pre-tax profits of €36.32m in 2023 follow pre-tax profits of €43.16m for 2022 and the bumper profits of recent years resulted in the company paying out a dividend of €51m in 2023 - more than double the dividend of €25m paid out in 2022.
Pre-tax profits reduced after cost of sales rose by €7.9m to €65.09m while administrative expenses increased by €5.88m to €31.06m.
The directors state that the main reasons for the increases were a €3.8m debtor write-off; a €2m cost arising from a site disposal; an additional €2.6m in inter-company royalties and an additional €2m in non-cash depreciation costs.
The 2023 revenues easily outstripped the pre-Covid 19 revenues of €69m in 2019.
The directors state that revenues increased due to an increase in the underlying turnover of franchisees "as their business further recovered from the impact of Covid-19 in 2023".
With planning applications before various local authorities for new restaurants the directors state that "the company anticipates further expansion of its operations in the Republic of Ireland".
Underlining the healthy business operated by McDonalds franchisees, separate accounts lodged by the operator of the first McDonald's outlet in Ireland on Dublin's Grafton Street recorded pre-tax profits of €4.68m in 2023.
Owned by Amir Afsar, Persian Restaurants Ltd operates a number of McDonalds restaurants in Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford including the outlet on Dublin’ Grafton Street and the company’s revenues increased by 9% from €48.28m to €52.72m in 2023.
Operating profits at McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland decreased by 20% from €42.75m to €34.03m in 2023.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
