PRETAX PROFITS at Cavan-based construction company P Elliot Co fell by more than 40 per cent to €8.8 million in 2008, newly filed accounts show.
However, after-tax profits were dented by a writedown of €1.75 million as a result of property devaluation, bringing the company’s total recognised gains for the year to €6 million compared to almost €19 million in 2007.
The building company, which is one of the State’s largest construction firms, saw turnover fall by 7 per cent from just under €300 million in 2007 to €277 million in 2008. Despite the slowdown in the construction sector, the accounts valued work-in-progress at the end of 2008 at €82 million, down from €97 million the previous year.
The balance sheet reveals the firm’s level of indebtedness. While the value of the company’s bank loans decreased to €48 million from €52 million in 2007, the amount of money owed by the firm to other property-related companies in the Elliott Holdings group soared to €23 million from €300,000 in 2007.
In addition, the balance sheet shows that five company directors were owed €1.75 million at the end of 2008 – double the amount owed in 2007 – with Noel Elliott jnr, managing director of the construction division, owed €1.4 million. The company’s shareholders were paid a divided of €463,000 compared with €415,000 in 2007.
While Ulster Bank is listed in the accounts as the company’s main bank, the firm also has loans with Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, and Bank of Scotland (Ireland). According to the accounts, these bank facilities are secured against property assets in Dublin, Cavan and Meath, as well as cross-guarantees from group companies. Bank of Scotland (Ireland) registered a charge on the book debts of the company in July this year.
The company’s income from investment dropped to €152,000 last year from €958,000 in 2007, while write-offs from investments increased to €740,000 from a figure of €390,000 in 2007.
The accounts show that the company’s workforce averaged 340 in 2008, down from 377 in 2007. Earlier this year, the company became embroiled in a labour relations dispute after being accused by unions of using subcontractors in place of directly employed labour.
P Elliott Company, which was established in 1942, is involved in a string of developments in Ireland, including the regeneration of Fatima Mansions in Dublin, development projects in Islandbridge, and the redevelopment of the former Irish Timesbuilding on D'Olier Street.
