Car group Nissan Ireland has taken a €1.88 million dividend from its subsidiary Windsor Motors, one of the biggest and best-known motor dealerships in the State.
But while newly-filed accounts show that Windsor's sales rose by almost 10 per cent to €173.99 million in the year to last March, its profit margins fell back significantly in the same period. The company also booked an unrealised surplus of €6.11 million on the revaluation of its land and buildings.
Windsor has eight Nissan dealerships: in Rialto, Deansgrange, Bray, Airside, Belgard, and Raheny in Dublin and in Cork and Galway. It also has Chevrolet and SsangYong dealerships in Bray and Galway and an Opel dealership in Liffey Valley. It has a Fiat dealership in Rialto and a used car centre in Cloghran, near Dublin Airport.
Windsor's operating profit of €3.33 million - the latest period - was only marginally ahead of the €3.29 million operating profit a year earlier. Despite the perception that motor dealers are booming in advance of an expected boost this year and next from the Government's special savings scheme, this means that the operating profit margin fell to 1.91 per cent from 2.08 per cent in the year to March 2004. Windsor had sales of €158.66 million in the previous year.
No-one from the company was available to discuss the latest accounts, which show that its pretax profit of €2.54 million compared with €2.48 million in the previous year.
The fall in profit margins came as Nissan Ireland took a lower dividend from Windsor. The payment of €1.88 million compared with a €3.08 million dividend the previous year as the dividend rate declined to €0.1222 per ordinary share from €0.2355 per share.
The 5 per cent stake in Windsor held by director Michael Herbert means he received a dividend of some €93,082 in respect of his 761,726 shares. Director Gabriel Keane, who has a 2½ per cent stake received €44,405 in respect of the 363,387 shares that he owns.
The accounts show that the Windsor business was restructured at the beginning of the financial year on April 1st 2004 when its subsidiaries were transferred to the parent company Windsor Motors Ltd. The company spent €3.68 million increasing its investment in Windsor Bray and €1.72 million increasing its investment in Windsor Galway.
Most of the increase in turnover in the latest period was attributed to a rise in vehicle sales, which rose to €156.06 million from €140.6 million.
The company's land and buildings were valued at €57.79 million on March 31st last, more than €6 million higher than a year earlier.
