O’Flaherty family’s motor group profits accelerate by 19% to €22m

The Irish family-owned group that distributes Mercedes-Benz cars in Ireland has recorded strong double-digit increases in its revenues and profits.

Accounts just filed for MML Holdings Ltd, which is owned by members of the wealthy O’Flaherty family, show that it achieved growth of 25 per cent in turnover last year to €364.7 million. No analysis of its revenues was provided.

Profits after tax rose to €22.3 million, up from €18.8 million a year earlier. This amounted to growth of almost 19 per cent.

The group’s corporate tax bill came to just over €4 million last year compared with €3 million in 2021, and it closed the financial period with accumulated profits of just under €304 million, up from €281 million a year earlier.

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No dividend was paid to shareholders last year. Two years ago, the group made headlines when it emerged that it had paid a dividend of €1.8 million to its owners, an almost identical amount to what it had received in pandemic-related supports from the State.

The group employed 311 staff on average last year, down one on the previous 12 months. Wages and salaries amounted to just under €18 million, up from €16.6 million in 2021. Fees and other payments to directors were €964,000, up from €850,000 a year earlier.

The financial statements also show that an investment property on the books had its value reduced by just under €1.8 million last year. Its investment properties were valued at €38.8 million overall, the accounts state.

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The accounts also note that on March 23rd this year, the group signed an agreement with Chinese car maker BYD to distribute its vehicles in the Republic. “The company is investing significantly in launching this global brand in the Irish market and building strong levels of brand awareness and demand among Irish consumers,” the directors’ report says.

O’Flaherty Holdings includes Motor Distributors Limited, which imports Mercedes-Benz into Ireland. The group also owns a large network of motor dealerships, as well as investment properties.

The group has its roots in a company founded by legendary Irish businessman Stephen O’Flaherty, grandfather of the current generation that owns the business. He built the group in the 1950s after securing the franchise for Ireland and Britain for Volkswagen. MDL is no longer a distributor of Volkswagen.