The firm which operates the National Car Test (NCT) last year recorded weekly revenues of almost €2m as it ramped up the number of tests provided.
New accounts filed by Applus Inspection Services Ireland Ltd show that its pre-tax profits increased more than six fold from €1.02m to €6.59m last year.
This followed revenues surging by 13.45% from €90.97m to €103.22m – or average weekly revenues of €1.98m.
The jump in revenues followed the number of tests provided last year increasing by 150,000 from 1.58 million to 1.73 million as the firm moved to eliminate the backlog that built up during 2023.
The directors state that “overall performance during the year was positive reflecting the increased throughout as a result of increasing headcount throughout the network”.
As part of the additional numbers employed during 2024, Applus recruited extensively in the Philippines for qualified mechanics to address the critical shortage of skilled staff here.
The bumper year for the firm resulted in the company paying out dividends of €7.6m last year with the directors stating that “it is noteworthy that no interim dividend was declared in the previous year”.
During 2024, the NCT fee for a full test was €55 and a re-test cost €28 and on January 1 this year, the full test fee increased to €60 and a re-test increased to €40.
The ten-year NCT contract operated by Applus concluded in June 2020 and the firm successfully re-tendered for a new ten year contract.
Numbers employed last year decreased marginally from 849 to 843 as staff costs increased by 13.45% from €43.05m to €48.85m.
The company last year recorded an operating profit of €6.16m before net interest payments of €428,380 received are taken into account.
The operating profit takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €4.64m and non-cash amortisation costs of €200,000.
The company recorded a post tax profit of €5.42m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €1.17m.
A breakdown of the firm’s revenues last year show that NCT revenues rose from €84.19m to €94.9m while revenues from VRT Import Conformance Inspection rose from €6.34m to €7.92m with ancillary income decreasing from €436,124 to €375,642.
On the number of vehicles tested in 2024, the directors state that the numbers were consistent with expectations given the current difficult trading environment.
Directors’ pay last year totalled €339,476 – made up of emoluments of €296,480 and €42,996 in pension contributions.
The firm’s shareholder funds last year totalled €3m as cash funds increased from €1.02m to €2.2m.
In 2024, London-based TDR Capital purchased a controlling stake in the Spanish headquartered Applus. TDR Capital’s other investments include Pizza Express and retailer Asda.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
