Dell’s Dublin-based operation sees pre-tax profits slump 25% to €8.5m

Pre-tax profits at the Dublin-based sales and support operations of computer giant Dell last year declined by 25% to €8.5m.

Documents just filed with the Companies Office by Dell Direct show that revenues at the company in the 12 months to the end of Feb 1 this year declined by 7% from €143.1m to €132m.

The numbers employed at Dell Direct’s workforce at Cherrywood last year declined from 1,301 to 1,284 with staff costs falling from €98.52m to €93.97m.

The firm recorded a post-tax profit of €7.6m after tax of €957,000 was paid.

Dell’s Cherrywood operation houses Dell’s direct sales and telephone-support operations for Ireland and the home and small-to-medium business sector in Britain.

The directors state that during the year, the company began to operate a cloud computing centre which is engaged in the research and development area. The company’s operating costs include pay-roll, headcount-related costs and administrative expenses directly related to the provision of the services.

The accounts show the company had accumulated profits of €111m at the start of February this year with total shareholder funds at €141m.

The profit last year takes account of €1m in non-cash depreciation costs.

The figures show that the firm’s staff costs last year included share-based payments of €4.6m.

Dell Direct received grants from the IDA worth €8.1m to the end of February last year.

The figures show that the firm’s other operating expenses last year decreased from €124m to €116.5m with selling expenses declining from €12.1m to €8.3m.