Profits fall at Abercrombie fashion stores’ Irish firm

Profits and revenues at the Irish firm that controls the two US clothing stores, Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch, dropped for the third successive year.

New accounts show that pre-tax profits at A&F Hollister Ltd dropped by 21%, to €403,171, in the 12 months to the end of January this year.

Revenues dropped by more than €2m, or 15%, to €11.44m.

The US clothing brands had enjoyed bumper years, when the Hollister store first opened at Dublin’s Dundrum Town Centre, in 2011, and after the Abercrombie & Fitch store opened at College Green, the following year.

Long queues had formed before the launch of both.

In response to the downturn in sales at the firm’s two Irish stores, the number of people employed by the company, last year, fell from 255 to 220. As a result, staff costs, last year, fell from €1.7m to €1.5m.

Another factor in the decease in profit was a sharp jump in the company’s operating lease costs. They increased by 24%, to €1.48m.

The company’s profits take account of non-cash depreciation costs of €951,332. After paying corporation tax of €77,762, they posted a post-tax profit of €325,409

Last year’s profit resulted in the firm’s accumulated profits increasing from €1m to €1.3m. The firm’s cash reduced from €4.49m to €3.15m.

However, Abercrombie & Fitch, in August, posted much-better-than-expected quarterly results, led by strong demand for its Hollister brand of surfwear.

Additional reporting, Reuters