Pre-tax profits at the firm which operates the five star Powerscourt Hotel resort near Enniskerry in Co Wicklow last year increased by 74% to €3.5m.
New accounts at hotel firm Sugarloaf Ventures Ltd show that the company recorded the 74% increase in pre-tax profits after revenues rose by 12% from €26.29m to €29.51m.
The pre-tax profits of €3.52m follow pre-tax profits of €2m in 2023.
The resort is part of the MHL Collection, a consortium led by US billionaire John Malone, and was purchased for over €50m in 2019.
The resort is set on 1,000 acres and the property boasts 198 bedrooms.
The MHL Collection was formed by its three partners, Mr Malone, Paul Higgins and John Lally.
The collection comprises eight hotels in Dublin and one in each of Galway and Limerick along with Powerscourt in Co Wicklow. In addition, MHL manages two sister hotels in Galway.
The MHL Hotel Collection is the second largest hotel group in Dublin city with over 1,450 five and four star bedrooms. Overall, the MHL Hotel Collection manages over 2,300 bedrooms in the four cities and counties in which it operates.
The hotels include The InterContinental Hotel in Dublin, The College Green Hotel Dublin and the Galmount Hotel and Spa in Galway.
The directors state that the company’s hotel operations are dependent on the Wicklow hotel market.
They state that “while the market performed in line with expectations, any slowdown in business levels could have a material impact on the hotel performance”.
Numbers employed by the five-star Powerscourt business last year increased by 45 from 297 to 342 with 317 in “operational”, 18 in “other administration” and seven in finance.
Staff costs increased from €9.72m to €10.85m.
A breakdown of the Powerscourt hotel’s revenues show that accommodation income increased from €13.5m to €15.5m while “food and bar” income increased from €9.05m to €10.45m and “other” income declined from €3.66m to €3.5m.
The hotel firm’s profits last year took account of non-cash depreciation costs of €1.09m and operating lease rentals of €3.35m.
The company’s gross profit increased from €14.1m to €15.9m after cost of sales rose from €12.18m to €13.58m.
The firm recorded post tax profits of €2.97m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €545,779.
At the end of December last, the firm had a shareholders’ funds of €3.48m. The firm’s cash funds increased from €5.27m to €5.6m.
Last week, it emerged that Irish-American billionaire cable TV mogul John Malone is stepping down as chair of his media and telecoms empire, which includes Virgin Media’s broadband and TV business here in Ireland.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
