Hot-pot creator sees profits cool

The Cork artisan food firm sold by hot-pot millionaires Cully & Sully is aiming to increase sales by around 16% this year.

That is according to co-founder Colum O’Sullivan who was commenting yesterday on new accounts for Cully & Sully Ltd showing that the firm’s pre-tax profits dropped marginally to €2.456m in the 12 months to the end of June last year.

However, the €2.46m pre-tax profit secured in the prior period was over 18 months. The firm’s gross profit last year was €3m compared to €4.35m in the previous 18 months.

Mr O’Sullivan and co-founder Cullen Allen — a nephew of Ballymaloe’s Darina Allen — shared a multimillion-euro windfall from selling their business to New York-based organic products group Hain Celestial in April 2012.

Hain Celestial confirmed that it paid €10.46m in cash for Cully & Sully and that a further €4.5m was to be paid based upon achieving specified operating results during the period to June 30, 2014.

Mr O’Sullivan stressed yesterday that the €2.45m pre-tax profit does not relate only to Cully & Sully-branded products but also to other Hain Celestial brands on sale in Ireland such as Hartley’s jam.

He said the Cully & Sully-branded soups enjoyed a 16% growth in revenues last year, “and we are hoping for a similar gain this year”.

Cash at the firm last year increased sixfold, from €613,065 to €3.667m, while shareholder funds increased from €2.67m to €4.82m.