General Motors Ireland reports profit fall of 36%

Profits at the distributor of Opel vehicles in Ireland fell by 36 per cent to €510,000 last year, despite a 25 per cent rise in sales to €88 million.

General Motors Ireland's latest accounts show that profit before tax fell from €794,000 in 2012 to €510,000, at a time when the firm has a market share of 6.2 per cent of the combined new passenger car and commercial vehicle market.

At the time the overall market was down 5 per cent on the previous year at 87,312 new vehicle registrations, according to the accounts.

Staff numbers at the Irish arm of the US car giant rose significantly in 2013 on the back of a restructuring of its global IT operations. The Irish office is playing a significant role in the European element of this restructuring and as a result the accounts show staff numbers at General Motors Ireland rose from 15 in 2012 to 36 last year. A total of 43 new IT staff have been taken on at the Irish operation as part of the move, according to a spokeswoman.

Wages and salaries cost rose from €1.1 million in 2012 to €3.5 million last year. Directors’ remuneration – salary and pension contributions – for the year rose from €292,000 to €303,000.

Included in the turnover is income from parts sales for 2013, which were up 5.4 per cent on the previous year to €10.7 million. With a reduction in the number of older vehicles in the Irish fleet Opel expects its parts business will be €9 million annually in the coming years.

The directors’ report states that while the firm had a 6.2 per cent market share in 2013, its medium terms objective is to have a sustainable 8 per cent new vehicle share.