Pre-tax profits at the operator of well known Dublin night spots, Café En Seine and The George decreased by 56.5% to €2.07m in 2023.
New consolidated accounts for The Mercantile Group show that the group sustained the drop in profits as revenues rose by 2% from €34.76m to €35.55m in 2023.
The group continued to expand its operations in 2023 that included the completion of two ‘strategic property acquisitions’ in Dublin city centre and this outlay along with capital works on the Mercantile Bar and Hotel totalled €12.3m in 2023.
The directors state that the works have continued on the development of the Mercantile Bar and Hotel with the hotel set to re-open in 2025.
The group also operates The Crafty Fox, Pichet, Opium, NoLIta, Whelan’s and the Railway Bar.
The accounts for Arden Advisory Ltd and subsidiary companies show that the two main factors behind the drop in profit were interest payments and similar expenses almost doubling from €1.1m to €2.1m in 2023 while Government grant funding reduced from €2.38m in 2022 to €49,823 in 2023.
The profit for 2023 takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €3.24m and non-cash amortisation costs of €271,152.
The group’s interest payments and similar expenses costs were made up of €1.2m in interest payable to credit institutions and €890,000 in loans from group undertakings.
Numbers employed increased from 379 to 388 as staff costs reduced from €12.94m to €12.42m.
The directors state that “the group plans to further expand our portfolio as strategic acquisition and redevelopment opportunities arise”.
The directors state that the Mercantile Group has always been well funded and prudently structured “which is why we are confident that the strong financial position of the group will allow the group to expand into the future as opportunities arise”.
They state that “we are confident that the quality of our much loved venues, coupled with the commitment of our staff and our financial position, will enable us to meet future challenges and continue to lead in the hospitality sector”.
The group recorded a post tax profit of €1.6m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €467,192.
At the end of December 2023, the group had shareholder funds of €19.05m. Cash funds declined from €11.18m to €3.05m.
The value of the group’s tangible assets increased from €55.09m to €64.02m.
At the end of December 2023, the group had bank loans of €20.95m and shareholder loans of €19.03m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
