Blow to John Paul

PROFITS before tax at John Paul Construction, one of the country’s largest building firms, plunged from €3.1 million in 2008 to €18,000 last year.

2009 was a challenging one for the company, according to accounts for the year to December 31, 2009. The directors said this was due to a difficult economic climate and a shrinking market.

They said despite this the group’s performance was satisfactory, with turnover of €132m compared with €135m in 2008, according to accounts just filed for John Paul Holdings Limited.

“The directors’ opinion is that the outlook for 2010 is difficult as a consequence of a much reduced level of activity and downward pressure on margins in both the building and civil engineering sectors,” the accounts read.

A dividend of €101,609 was paid compared with €148,647 in the previous year. Gross profit fell from €8m to €5.2m.