O’Flaherty’s net €20m despite fall in profits

SOME €20 million in dividend payments were made last year to the O’Flaherty family, owners of one of the largest car dealerships in the country.

Accounts for O'Flaherty Holdings, the parent company of Motor Distributors Limited (MDL), show the payments were largely shares by just three directors of the company.

The biggest payment went to Michael O'Flaherty, 73, who netted just over €9 million for his 3.4 million shares in the company.

His brother Nigel, who acts as the company's chairman, was paid €5.8 million, while Stephen O'Flaherty received a payout of just over €2m.

The dividend per share in 2004 was €2.62, up 13 cents from the payment in 2003.

Over the last three years, shareholders in the company have received dividend payments of almost €70 million, turning the O'Flahertys into one of the richest dynasties in Ireland.

According to some estimates, the O'Flaherty brothers are worth close to €300 million. Their father Stephen acquired the Irish franchise for Volkswagen in 1949.

Motor Distributors Limited has the Irish franchise for many top car brands, including Mercedes, Audi and Volkswagen. Aside from its car dealerships, O'Flaherty Holdings also manufactures and sell aerial lifts in Britain and the US.

Profits at the company slipped from €45.5 million to €41.4m. The company has seen its earnings slide in recent years despite a surge in turnover.

No reason for the fall in profits was given, though the operating expenses would account for much of the decline.

Sales for the year were €904.4 million, up by just under €77m.

The company did not break down its turnover between its car and other businesses on the grounds that it would give away too much information to competitors.

Shareholders' funds at end 2004 increased to €290 million.

Remunerations for the company's eight directors, who include former Bank of Ireland chairman Laurence Crowley and MDL boss Thomas O'Dowd, increased from €2.2m to €2.4m.

At the year end, 1049 people were employed by the company half of them in the company's manufacturing operations. The wages bill for the year totalled €47m, giving an average salary of €45,000.

MDL was not the only company to see profits fall in recent years. Profits at Glencullen Holdings, the owner of the Renault franchise in Ireland fell in 2003.