Pre-tax profits at the Leonardo chain of hotels, formerly Jury's Inn, last year decreased by 84% to €2.29m.
New accounts filed by Fattal Leonardo Operation (Ireland) Ltd - formerly Fattal Jurys Operation (Ireland) Ltd - show that the drop in pre-tax profits coincided with revenues rising by 13% from €53.48m to €60.5m.
The hotel group is owned by Israeli-based Fattal Holding (1998) Ltd and revenues at the Irish arm were boosted following the December 2023 opening of the NYX hotel at Portobello in Dublin.
The company operates five other hotels in prime city locations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The group recorded the sharp drop in pre-tax profits through a mix of lower non-cash revaluation gains and higher finance expenses.
Its operating profits last year decreased by €3m from €13.45m to €10.39m.
The group benefited from a revaluation gain of €2.96m compared to €9.46m under that heading in the prior year while finance expenses increased from €8.67m to €11.06m.
The directors stated that they "are satisfied with the level of retained earnings at year end".
The company recorded a post tax profit of €2.08m after it incurred a corporation tax charge of €213,000.
The renaming of the hotels from Jury's to Leonardo in 2022 brought to an end an association between the Jury's name and Irish hotels that dates back to 1839.
The entire Jury's Inn portfolio was acquired by the Fattal Hotel group, which is owned by Israeli billionaire David Fattal, in 2017.
With the opening of the new hotel at Portobello, numbers employed increased from 495 to 542 last year as staff costs increased from €13.72m to €17m.
Pay to directors, including pension payments of €34,000, increased from €436,000 to €454,000.
The profit also takes account of combined non-cash depreciation costs of €10.7m.
The company received zero income in management fee income after receiving €503,000 in the prior year and the management fee income pertains to the recharge of staff costs taken as part of the construction of NYX Portobello hotel in 2023.
At the end of December last, the firm had accumulated profits of €35.8m while its cash funds decreased from €923,000 to €301,000.
Today, the Fattal Hotel Group operates more than 300 hotels with more than 53,000 bed rooms in 133 destinations and 21 countries across Europe and Israel.
The brand portfolio includes Leonardo Hotels, Leonardo Royal Hotels, Leonardo Boutique Hotels and NYX Hotels by Leonardo Hotels.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
