Donnybrook Fair's pre-tax profits fell by 20% to €607 000 in its last financial year, while turnover was €23m, the Irish Independent reported today.
Accounts for the company year ended 31 January 2014 show a downturn in profits; with founder Joe Doyle acknowledging that 2013 was "undoubtedly a challenging year" for the retail sector.
The company has taken cost cutting measures to protect profits. Staff numbers were at 232 people in January 2013, with a reduction to just 174 by the end of January 2014. Lower staff numbers allowed Donnybrook fair to cut its wage bill from €4.6m to €3.75m.
It also reduced its administration costs to 7.9m from 9.1m in the same period. However, while there was a slight increase in turnover, the cost of sales rose from €13.9m to €15.1m.
The latest accounts also show that Donnybrook fair has reduced its debt to €1.77m at the end of last January from €2.82m a year earlier.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
