Life still good for Galway-based Lifes2Good as sales rise

Lifes2Good, the Galway-based beauty products group established by entrepreneur James Murphy, saw profits decline in the year ahead of the €150 million sale of its Viviscal brand, but sales rose.

The celebrity-endorsed hair restoration brand was bought by Church & Dwight, the owner of Arm & Hammer toothpaste, in January.

Newly-filed accounts for Lifes2Good Holdings Ltd show the group recorded pretax profits of €1.94 million for the 12 months to the end of 2016, as against €2.97 million a year earlier.

Turnover increased by €3.9 million over the year to €54.6 million as operating profits fell by €1.1 million to €2.1 million.

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A note included in the accounts reveals turnover and profit after tax arising from the Viviscal brand during the year amounted to €49.8 million and €8.4 million respectively.

Celebrities

The celebrity endorsed hair restoration brand was sold in more than 25,000 stores across the US having grown fast after getting the thumbs up from the likes of US stars Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Reese Witherspoon and Miley Cyrus.

After the disposal of Viviscal, Lifes2Good announced plans to continue under its current ownership selling its remaining brands, which include Sonic Chic toothbrushes and Pettura pet products.

A former EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, Mr Murphy is also well-known to the public as a member of the Galway Tenors singing group. He founded Lifes2Good 20 years ago.

The directors of the company said in a note they were continuing to seek opportunities to expand the product base and explore new markets for its existing brands.

Lifes2Good employed 102 people last year with staff costs, including wages and salaries, totalling €7.4 million as against €6.6 million a year earlier.