Pre-tax profits at wholesale group BWG Foods last year increased by 29% to €39.99m on the back of record sales.
BWG Foods UC, ultimately owned by South African-incorporated The Spar Group Limited, operates a number of retail and convenience brands in Ireland, including Mace as well as Spar, Eurospar, Londis and XL.
BWG Foods works in partnership with more than 1,000 independent retailers, serving in excess of 1 million shoppers here every day.
New accounts show that BWG Foods UC achieved the profits as revenues increased by 5.6% from €1.62 billion to €1.71 billion in the 12 months to the end of September 2024.
The directors state that “the company had record high sales year on year”.
They state that the growth in the company was driven by a combination of volume increases, inflation and acquisitions.
The directors state that during the year, the business purchased the trade and assets of Faherty Wholesalers for €500,000 and in October 2023 acquired two of its subsidiaries, William’s Gate Ltd for €4.5m in the form of an inter-company loan and Tuffy Wholesale Ltd for €14.3m – also in the form of an inter-company loan.
BMG also operates a distribution centre and 20 cash and carry outlets under the Value Centre brand throughout the Ireland along with two wholesale cash and carry outlets under the Better Deal brand.
The directors state that they consider that both the results for the year and the trading prospects for the future are satisfactory and it is their intention to continue to develop the existing business.
The group’s operating profits last year increased by 23.6% rising from €42.2m to €52.18m. The business benefited from an exceptional gain last year of €582,000 compared to an exceptional cost of €7.24m in 2023.
The group recorded its pre-tax profit of €39.99m after finance costs of €12.18m are taken into account.
Its operating profits take account of non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €24.3m.
Numbers employed by the business last year increased from 1,491 to 1,650 with staff costs rising from €79.7m to €91.25m. Directors’ pay increased from €6.8m to €7.8m.
The group enjoyed post tax profits of €34.67m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €5.32m.
The directors state that operating expenses have fluctuated in response to market volatility, inflation and increased wage pressure.
They state that “this area continues to be closely monitored by management”.
The group’s cost of sales last year increased from €1.42 billion to €1.49 billion while net operating expenses increased from €164.7m to €179.2m.
The vast bulk of sales occurred in Ireland, accounting for €1.7 billion of sales with only €4.9m occurring in the UK.
Shareholder funds at the end of September 2024 totalled €102.4m that included accumulated profits of €73.8m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
