Profits dip 7% at Irish branch of catering firm BaxterStorey

Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of leading UK contract catering firm BaxterStorey last year fell 7% to €1.2m in spite of a jump in revenues.

New accounts filed by BaxterStorey Ireland Ltd show the firm’s profits fell from €1.3m to €1.2m as revenues rose 14% to €36m.

The firm continued to grow in 2014as staff numbers rose from 506 to 595.

The directors say they are very pleased with the 2014 results. “The year saw a continuation of high organic turnover growth with year-on-year turnover increasing by 14%,” they wrote.

“Aligned with the increase in turnover has been robust margin performance with gross margin of 9.3% versus the prior year’s 9%.

“The strong profit and loss performance is reflected in the year-end balance sheet which shows €1.7m of cash.”

The figures show that the firm’s revenues were made up of €32.9m in revenues from Ireland with Belgium and the Netherlands making up €3.2m in sales.

The Irish operation recorded a gross profit of €3.79m compared to a gross loss of €444,000 in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The firm’s revenues in Ireland increased by 16% going from €28.4m to €32.9m.

At the end of last year, the firm had accumulated profits of €2.2m that included its cash pile growing more than threefold from €519,000 to €1.73m.