National Radio Cabs posts 23 per cent drop in profits

NATIONAL radio Cabs (NRC), the State’s largest taxi company, posted a 23 per cent drop in profits last year as expenses rose and the downturn hit income.

New contracts won in the past few months have helped to stabilise business, however, with directors expecting the current year to deliver a steady performance.

Accounts posted at the Companies Office show NRC had an after-tax profit of €358,540 in the year to the end of February 2009, down from €467,769 in the previous 12 months.

This came as expenses linked to accommodation and promotion increased and the firm faced higher bank charges.

Dublin-based NRC had a gross profit of €2.95 million for the year, a slight rise on 2008. Expenses also rose, however, climbing by 8 per cent to €2.4 million, while interest and other charges were 17 per cent higher at €161,000.

NRC general manager Liam Brady said costs had climbed in 2009 in part because the company had advertised more to win business in a tougher climate. Last year was also the company’s first year in a larger, more expensive premises, which cost €2.8 million to develop.

Mr Brady said the period since last February had been “seriously tough”, but the company should be able to hold its profits steady.

He pointed to a number of newly-won tenders, including the Dublin taxi service for the Health Service Executive, but said other clients had closed accounts.

“People have stopped spending,” said Mr Brady. He added, however, that trade seems to have “bottomed out” recently.

NRC paid dividends of €46,777 last year, down from €57,510 in 2008. The company is owned by about 40 individuals, all of whom chose to buy into the business after it ceased being a co-operative a decade ago. Shareholders’ funds climbed from €3.2 million to €3.5 million in 2009.

Mr Brady said the firm had always been “prudent” with payouts, and particularly in the past few months had done its best to minimise costs. It had, for example, not replaced departing staff and had substituted overtime payments with time in lieu.

The firm employed 55 people last year, while it has about 850 self-employed taxi drivers on its service.