New accounts filed by Mr Guilbaud’s Becklock Ltd for the 12 months to the end of August show that the post-tax profit of €167,554 compared with €344,600 for the prior year.
“2023 was a tough year because of the increase in overheads,” Patrick Guilbaud said.
“Everything is more expensive and we can’t pass everything on to the customer so the margin is smaller.”
The business is located beside the five-star Merrion Hotel in Dublin. Mr Guilbaud said he decided not to pass on additional costs “as I do not want to lose my customer base”.
“They have been good to us for the last 40 years-plus and I want to carry on.”
Mr Guilbaud said the costs will be passed slowly to customers in the years to come.
The lunch menu at the two Michelin star Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud costs €95 per person while a la carte ranges from €120 to €170. The eight-course tasting menu costs €260 per person.
However, Mr Guilbaud said that compared with two Michelin star restaurants in cities such as Paris and New York, they are “quite inexpensive”.
He said equivalent restaurants in those cities are 25pc more expensive.
Mr Guilbaud said the restaurant continues to attract customers.
“We are full all the time apart from early in the week,” he said. “But we have to manage our overheads a bit better.”
The annual return shows that Mr Guilbaud no longer has a controlling stake in Becklock after transferring almost half of his share to his son, Charles, who is part of the management team.
Charles now has a 24pc share in the business
“We try slowly to make sure that we have continuity in the business and it is so far so good,” Mr Guilbaud said.
The profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €277,440.
At the end of August last, Becklock Ltd’s accumulated profits totalled €2.39m. The company’s cash funds increased from €774,621 to €869,055.
Staff costs increased from €1.63m to €1.7m as numbers employed increased by two to 38.
Directors’ pay decreased by 18pc from €535,316 to €439,448, made up of emoluments of €271,022 and pension contributions of €168,426.