Hotel group losses hit €8m due to writedown

THE company that operates the four-star Fitzpatrick’s Killiney Castle hotel in Dublin is planning to return to profitability this year after losses of €8 million last year.

The loss recorded by Killiney Hotels Ltd arose mainly from the company writing down its property by €7.9m last year.

In the accounts just filed by Killiney Hotels Ltd, they show that the company recorded a pre-tax loss of €343,671 in the 12 months to the end of September last following the company recording a pre-tax loss of €372,017 in 2009.

However, the €7.9m write down increased the company’s losses to €8m.

The 18th century, 113-room hotel is owned by Eithne Scott-Lennon — her brother and well-known hotelier, John Fitzpatrick runs two Fitzpatrick hotels in New York city.

The figures show that the company made an operating profit last year of €28,924, but bank loan interest payments of €372,595 resulted in the pre-tax loss. The company received a tax credit last year totalling €322,029.

According to the directors, they are “disappointed with the company’s trading performance during the year. Plans for 2011 are for the improvement of the company’s trading performance and a return to profitability”.

The numbers employed by the company last year reduced from 151 to 124 with staff costs reducing from €3.63m to €3.2m.

The figures show that the company’s property was written down from €22.9m to €15m.

As a result of the property write-down, the company’s shareholder funds totalled €4.3m at the end of the year.