Department store retailer Clery & Co increased its pre-tax profits last year by 75 per cent to almost €1.4 million following strong trading and tight cost control, according to accounts made available to The Irish Times. Ciarán Hancock, Business Affairs Correspondent, reports.

Its gross sales, which includes VAT and turnover from concessions, rose by 7.3 per cent to €73 million in the year to the end of January 2007.

The sales were derived largely from its flagship department store on O'Connell Street but also include Guineys on Talbot Street and Clerys Home Furnishings outlets in Leopardstown, Blanchardstown and Naas.

Chief executive P J Timmins said Clerys expects to increase its gross sales to more than €80 million this year.

Mr Timmins said the upgrading of O'Connell Street in recent years, the removal of large trucks from the city centre and the introduction of Luas to the area had a positive impact on trading.

Clerys is currently spending €2 million refurbishing its ground floor in the O'Connell Street store.

It will shortly introduce a number of new fashion concessions, including Oasis, East, Pilgrim and Mikey and new cosmetics brands such as Origins, Shiseido, Benefit, Smashbox and Dianne Brill.

The company paid €18.9 million last year to acquire an adjoining property at the rear of its store in O'Connell Street which was owned by developer Garret Kelleher.

The site covers a quarter of an acre and Mr Timmins said the group plans to develop it for additional retail.

"It would be the directors' vision to develop the property to make this a more substantial retail destination in the city," Mr Timmins said.

Clerys now owns a two-acre site at O'Connell Street.

Mr Timmins said the company is also conducting a review of the 10,000 sq ft building that value retailer Guineys operates from on nearby Talbot Street. "We think it needs to be redeveloped to bring it into the modern age," he said.

Guineys, however, will not be closed, a fate that recently befell Frawley's on Thomas Street. "Guineys is profitable and trading well," he said. "It adds to our ability to buy in bulk and to clear stock from Clerys."

He said Clerys was also looking at expanding its online activities and at adding new stores outside Dublin.

The number of staff employed at Clerys last year rose from 266 to 274, while staff costs increased to €8.8 million from €7.7 million.

Clerys accounts were presented to shareholders at its annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday, where a dividend payment of €570,400 was agreed. Clerys biggest shareholder is AIB, which owns 19 per cent of the business.

The company is structured as an unlisted plc and has more than 90 shareholders, most of whom are descended from Mary and Denis Guiney who controlled the business for more than 60 years.

Mr Timmins said there are currently no plans to review the ownership structure of the business. "I am not aware of any review."