The BWG group, owner of the Spar retail chain in Ireland, saw its pre-tax profits soar by 23% last year to €29.8 million, according to the Irish Independent.
The news publication reports that the group, with businesses in the UK and Ireland, saw its revenue marginally increase to €1.4 billion in the 12 months to the end of last September.
It added that 87.5% of its revenues were generated in the Republic, equating to €1.22 billion.
However, as staff costs have increased for the Dublin-headquartered group, it has had to reduce the number of its employees last year from 1,940 to 1,877.
Emma Boost
The group’s directors have reaffirmed their commitment to further develop the business, as both the 2017 results and future trading prospects redeemed to be ‘satisfactory’.
It was reported by Spar South Africa (SSA), a Johannesburg-listed company that has an 80% stake in BWG, that the Irish distributor saw its sales rise by just under 3% in the first half of this year.
SSA highlighted that adverse weather in the early months of the year caused public panic over the sale of many food items, and a rush of pre-Storm Emma shopping led to a “significant turnover growth” for BWG.
In Ireland, BWG oversees the operation of Spar, Spar Express, and Eurospar, in addition to 21 Value Centre cash and carry outlets, which supply a number of retail and hospitality groups.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
