Operating profits at Savills Irish unit rise 26% to €6.8m

Company pays out dividends of €7m

Savills: numbers employed increased from 248 to 284 as staff costs rose from €27.12 million to €29.66 million. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg
Savills: numbers employed increased from 248 to 284 as staff costs rose from €27.12 million to €29.66 million. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

Operating profits at Savills’ main Irish unit last year increased by 26 per cent to €6.89 million as the property firm benefited from a post-pandemic bounce.

Accounts filed by Savills Commercial (Ireland) Ltd show that the business recorded the increaseas revenues rose by 12 per cent rising from €36.44 million to €40.83 million.

Numbers employed increased from 248 to 284 as staff costs rose from €27.12 million to €29.66 million.

The company last year paid out dividends of €7 million. It paid out €14.5 million in 2021.

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In a note with the accounts the directors said that “the company experienced continued post-Covid trading recovery in 2022 despite real estate markets in Ireland and globally being challenged by geopolitical events, macroeconomic issues, and the associated policy responses”.

They add that “notwithstanding this, most business lines experienced a significant uplift in activity during the year with year-on-year revenue increasing by 12 per cent”.

The note said that “the company’s overall performance was supported by the strength of its less transactional sectors, particularly property management and residential leasing”.

The company operates across a range of real estate advisory services covering all the elements of office, retail, industrial, hotel, residential property and mixed-use development schemes.

In the accounts – signed off on November 9th – the directorssaid that the business was “expected to be profitable in 2023 and 2024″.

The firm’s pre-tax profits for last year at €6.94 million were down 16 per cent on the €8.27 million posted for 2021.

However, the 2021 pre-tax profits of €8.27 million were skewed by an exceptional gain of €2.83 million concerning the write-back of an historical provision against an amount due from a fellow subsidiary.

Pay to directors last year increased from €1.59 million to €1.6 million comprising remuneration of €1.24 million, long-term incentive scheme benefits of €208,616 and pension contributions of €151,995.

The profit also took account last year of non-cash depreciation costs of €229,599 and lease costs of €759,846.

The company last year recorded post-tax profits of €6.02 million after incurring a corporation tax charge of €921,061.

At the end of December last, the firm was sitting on shareholder funds of €12.6 million that included accumulated profits of €9.44 million. The company’s cash funds increased from €14.36 million to €16.32 million.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times