Pretax profits at the Kilkenny Design Group, the Irish fashion and design retailer owned by the O’Gorman family, last year increased more than seven fold to €1.28 million.
Consolidated accounts filed by Clydaville Holdings Ltd show that the group recorded a sharp increase in pretax profits as revenues increased marginally to €32.17 million in the 12 months to the end of January 26th this year.
Kilkenny Design Group operates 18 bricks and mortar stores here.
Locations include Killarney, Douglas, Ennis, Galway, Trim and Kildare Village.
RM Block
Clydaville – which has its registered office in Killarney- recorded an operating profit of €1.34 million, which was a 166 per cent increase on the €504,244 it posted for the prior year.
In their report, the directors state that “operating in an environment of economic volatility, Kilkenny Design faced headwinds that were beyond our control”.
“The ongoing global cost of living crisis added pressures on our cost structures posing additional challenges to the performance of the business,” they added.
They state that “the business delivered a turnaround in the current year, returning to strong profitability compared to a small profit in the prior year”.
This “reflects the positive impact of strategic initiatives and decisive actions taken by management, including proactive cost-saving strategies, margin-enhancing activities and the successful introduction of new brands and new own brand ranges into the portfolio”.
The company “successfully restructured its debt during the year, resulting in improved financial flexibility. As a result, the company is now well-positioned to meet its debt obligations as they fall due”.
Numbers employed reduced from 219 to 216 as staff costs declined from €8.25 million to €7.34 million.
The profits also take account of combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €1.06 million. Directors’ pay increased marginally from €580,825 to €595,657.
The firm’s profits also take account of exceptional credit of €91,459 arising from re-organisational costs.
After incurring a corporation tax charge of €167,474, the group recorded a after-tax profit of €1.11 million.
