Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of pharmacy retail giant Boots last year increased by 24% to €36.56m.
New accounts filed by Boots Retail (Ireland) Ltd show that the business increased profits as revenues climbed by 11% from €475.36m to a record €529.6m in the 12 months to the end of August last.
The pre-tax profits of €36.56m follow pre-tax profits of €29.54m in 2022.
The company opened two new outlets during the year bringing the store network to 94.
During the year, the company paid out a dividend of €48.2m after paying out zero dividends in 2022.
The directors state that retail revenues made up 87.5% of total revenues with pharmacy revenues making up the remaining 12.5%.
They state that comparable retail revenues increased by 10.6% “as a result of growth in a number of categories, in particular the beauty category”.
The directors state that comparable pharmacy revenues increased by 7% “mainly due to strong volume growth in particular in relation to Government schemes”.
The report states that operating profits increased by 13.6% to €38.5m primarily from stronger sales across retail and pharmacy partially offset by a rise in distribution costs.
The firm recorded a post tax profit of €29.9m after the company incurred a corporation tax charge of €6.6m.
Numbers employed decreased from 1,646 to 1,630 though staff costs increased from €68.73m to €72.29m.
The profits take account of non-cash depreciation costs of €26.1m.
The profits also take account of €442,000 in re-organisation costs which are one-off costs associated with the changes in the company’s central support operating models.
Remuneration paid to directors last year dipped marginally from €1.12m to €1.04m and the highest paid director received €547,000. This was made up of €349,000 in pay, €166,000 under long term incentive schemes and €32,000 in pension contributions.
The post tax profits offset by the dividend payout resulted in shareholder funds declining from €151.24m to €132.92m that included accumulated profits of €29.9m.
Cash funds increased from €4.4m to €5.3m. On the risks facing the business, the directors state that “the impact of the current global cost pressures and supply chain disruptions has resulted in high inflation rates in the Republic of Ireland and globally.”
They state that these factors along with the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine “have contributed to a cost of living crisis within the Republic of Ireland which could impact various stakeholders as well as the business”.
They state that the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU has stabilised, although “management continue to monitor any further developments”.
The directors state that the cost of living crisis has not caused a significant impact on the business to date, however, there is some impact on the short term outlook for growth and an increase in operating costs.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan