Profits at Irish arm of Argos jump 60%, but revenues fall

Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of British catalogue retailer Argos jumped nearly 60% last year, new figures show.

Newly-filed accounts for Argos Distributors (Ireland) show a 57% rise, to €8.45m, in pre-tax profits for the 12 months to March 2018.

Revenues, however, decreased by 13% to €191.5m. The company said the increase in profits reflected a decrease in net operating expenses and an increase in gross margin rate on the reduced sales.

Numbers employed by Argos in Ireland reduced from 1,024 to 975 during the year. The company has 40 stores in Ireland and also generates sales online and over the telephone. The Irish division of the business closed its last financial year with net assets of €48.4m.

It generated an operating profit of just over €9m and recorded gross profits of over €57.2m.

The retailer is owned by UK supermarket giant Sainsbury's and recorded a post-tax profit of €7.3m after paying out €1.1m in corporation tax.

The company’s cash pile last year increased from €12.67m to €13.75m. Argos Ireland's profits took account of €11.8m in operating lease rentals along with non-cash depreciation costs of €1.2m.

The company’s stores in Ireland are located in Ashbourne, Arklow, Athlone, Carlow, Castlebar, Drogheda, Dundalk, Galway, Killarney, Letterkenny, Longford, Navan, Portlaoise, Tullamore, Tralee, Waterford and Wexford along with stores in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.