The country's largest dedicated parcel delivery firm, DPD Ireland, last year delivered a 14% increase in pre-tax profits of €29.07m - the highest to date for the company and three times pre-Covid 19 pre-tax profits of €9.6m.
In another stellar year for the Athlone-headquartered delivery firm, revenues at Interlink Ireland Ltd last year topped the €200m for the second time as revenues increased by 7% from €188.6m to €201.22m.
The company last year paid out a dividend of €70m from the bumper profits recorded in recent years. The pre-tax profits of €29.07m follow pre-tax profits of €25.5m in 2023.
The principal activity of the firm is to provide an overnight service for the collection and delivery of parcels, through a network of franchises/network members in Ireland.
The directors state that "turnover has continued to increase steadily from the previous year. The expectation of management is that turnover will remain consistent if not slightly increase in the following years".
The company has 37 depots around the country and its red and white DPD branded vans are a frequent sight on the country's roads.
The businesss operating profits last year increased by 14% to €26.63m and interest payments received of €2.4m resulted in the pre-tax profits of €29.07m.
In 2000, the business became part of GeoPost, the parcels and express arm of French Poste, the French Post Office and the Irish business renamed itself DPD in 2008.
The company's Athlone facility can handle up to 21,000 parcels an hour.
In another year of growth for the business numbers employed increased by 69 as staff numbers rose from 481 to 550. The workforce was made up of 340 in production, 183 in administration, 11 in management and 16 in sales.
Staff costs increased from €22.06m to €23.8m.
The directors state that "at DPD Ireland, our people are the absolute heart of our operation and the driving force behind our success".
"Our commitment is to foster a workplace culture where every individual feels valued, supported and empowered to grow. Central to this is our deep dedication to Diversity and Inclusion," they state.
"We believe that by celebrating a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, we create a more innovative, dynamic, and resilient team," they add.
The company's distribution costs totalled €27.29m while administration expenses decreased marginally from €27.6m to €27.47m.
The company recorded post tax profits of €25.04m after a corporation tax charge of €4.03m is taken into account.
The profit for last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €3.85m.
A breakdown of revenues shows that Ireland revenues increased from €162.45m to €173.55m as UK revenues increased marginally from €26.15m to €27.67m.
Pay to directors increased from €1.05m to €1.17m made up of emoluments of €992,000 and pension contributions of €178,000.
The €70m dividend payout offset by the post tax profits of €25.04m resulted in accumulated profits decreasing from €127.4m to €82.44m.
The firm's cash funds last year reduced from €5.14m to €1.98m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
