Dublin’s Merrion Hotel returns to profitability

THE five-star hotel the President of the United States Barack Obama checked into but never stayed at, returned to pre-tax profit last year, new figures show.

Accounts just filed with the Companies Office show that the Merrion Hotel recorded a modest pre-tax profit of €34,599 in the 12 months to the end of October last year.

This followed Hotel Merrion Ltd incurring a loss of €568,640 in 2009 and €607,500 in 2008.

During their state visit last May, President Obama and First Lady, Michelle checked into the Merrion hotel, but did not overnight as planned due to their early departure from the country brought about by ash cloud disruption.

The figures show that the company’s gross profit increased marginally from €5.14 million to €5.15m last year.

The hotel comprises of 123 rooms and 19 suites and its website yesterday showed that guests can pay €3,000 per night for the penthouse suite to €505 per night for a standard double room.

The pre-tax profit also takes into account the non-cash depreciation cost of €535,266 last year.

However, the returns show that after tax of €63,134 was paid last year, the company recorded a post-tax loss of €28,535, compared to a post-tax loss of €572,946 in 2009.

The Merrion Hotel is controlled by businessman Lochlann Quinn, Glen Dimplex founder Martin Naughton, and the Hastings Hotel Group, the Northern hotel company controlled by Billy Hastings.

The losses from previous years resulted in the company having accumulated losses of €2.43m last year with net liabilities of the same amount.

According to a note, the directors, since year end, have provided a letter of comfort confirming their continued support and that sufficient funds will be made available.

The note states that in light of this and other issues, it is appropriate for the financial statements to be prepared on a going concern basis.

The figures show that the numbers employed by the hotel increased last year from 217 to 231 and staff costs, including directors’ pay, declined marginally from €6.1m to €6m.

The figures show that the company’s administrative costs declined by almost 10% from €5.6m to €5m.

The figures show that the company recorded an operating profit last year of €57,207 compared to an operating loss of €503,603 in 2009.

The company’s performance was boosted by the firm paying €24,251 in bank interest payments compared to €85,828 in interest payments in 2009.