New accounts filed by Fanagans Funeral Directors Ltd show that profits decreased as revenues dipped by 3pc from €11.8m to €11.48m.
The funeral-home operator – in business since 1819 – has 11 funeral homes dotted around Dublin, including in Donnybrook, Rathfarnham, Fairview, Monkstown, Finglas, Dundrum, Tallaght, Kimmage and Aungier Street.
The business continues to expand and the directors reveal that in August of this year, the group purchased Seamus Tighe’s and Frank Jennings’s Ponticherry Ltd, which operates funeral homes in Glasthule and Raheny.
The directors state that the acquisition was funded using a mixture of cash reserves and a bank loan.
They state that Ponticherry Ltd will continue to trade as it has traded in previous years with the process and systems from the company being introduced over time.
The funeral operator also has plans to open a new funeral home in Goatstown in south Dublin.
However, that proposal is stalled after a local resident lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against the grant of planning permission to Fanagans at Willowfield Park, Goatstown, Dublin 14.
On the 2023 performance, the directors state they are satisfied with the progress made during the year “and intend to continue to achieve the highest standards in the service they provide to their valued customers”.
They state that “for over 200 years, Fanagans have been trusted by the people of Dublin to care for their funeral needs”.
Numbers employed by the funeral home group last increased from 86 to 93 made up of 55 in management and administration and 38 in operations. Staff costs dipped marginally from €5.49m to €5.45m.
Eight directors served during the year and directors’ pay remained at €1.1m, the same level as 2022.
The profit last year takes account of combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €783,736. Net cash generated from operating activities totalled €1.14m. Shareholder funds totalled €10.78m that include accumulated profits of €9.58. Cash funds totalled €2m.