Gleneagle Hotel and Inec conference firm in profit

The group that operates the Inec — Ireland’s National Event Centre — and the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney booked an operating profit of €1.05m in 2015.

The new accounts filed by Gleneagle Holdings Killarney Ltd show that the business maintained its level of operating profit for a second year.

However, an exceptional cost of €384,000 resulted in a pre-tax loss of €267,425.

The exceptional cost related to the write-off of debt owed to the company by connected firms and included interest payments totalling €934,105

In their report, the directors state that they are confident that the group will return to profitability in 2016.

Its revenues in 2015 rose 6% to €24.8m.

The Inec regularly plays host to big stars. It is also a favourite venue for Donegal crooner Daniel O’Donnell.

Chief financial officer at the Gleneagle Group, Manjit Gill yesterday said that the group was “pleased that our turnover for 2015 is up 6% on 2014”.

The Gleneagle Group continued to benefit from government tourism initiatives such as the Wild Atlantic Way.

Other events including Oireachtas na Gaeilge, the All-Ireland Dancing Championships, the Insomnia Gaming Festival and Daniel O’Donnell’s week-long residency had also boosted visitor numbers last year, he said.

He added: “We are once again set to host a series of large-scale events in 2017, which will, in turn, benefit the entire region and these include The Musical Dirty Dancing, Kerry Comic Con, the WIDA World Dancing Championships and the Insomnia Gaming Festival.”

The pre-tax loss takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €1.19m and non-cash amortisation costs of €110,000.

The group’s cost of sales in 2015 fell to €6.28m from €6.48m in 2014, while administrative expenses increased from €15.9m to €17.54m.

Staff numbers at the group increased from 382 to 409, while staff costs increased marginally, from €9.7m to €10.8m.

A note attached to the accounts on the group’s going concern status states that “a cross guarantee is held by AIB for the debt of all companies, some of which are in a net liability position”.

The note says that “the group has the support of its bankers and continues to be in a position to pay debts as they fall due”.

The group’s bank loans at the end of 2015 stood at €30.6m.

Pay for directors, including pension contributions of €36,381, increased from €450,549 to €567,540. At the end of 2015, the group had shareholder funds totalling €2.29m.

Its cash more than doubled from €1.84m in 2014 to €3.19m in 2015.