Profits rose more than a third at O'Brien's Irish Sandwich Bars last year, according to accounts recently filed at Companies Office. Earnings rose to €876,385 from €641,383 at the franchise operator on the back of a 19 per cent rise in revenue to €2.56 million and tight control of expenses.
Management service fees accounted for the bulk of income, at €1.48 million. Franchisees also made a €673,460 contribution to group marketing activities and paid €353,604 in franchise fees.
Consumer marketing outlay by the parent group fell slightly in 2003 to €452,171 but is understood to have increased again this year.
The business that company chief executive Mr Brody Sweeney founded in 1998 currently has around 260 outlets with sales of around €100 million. Ireland has 100 of them, a figure he recently said he hoped to double over the next four years.
The group also has 130 outlets in Britain, which it sees as a key growth market, and operates in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, Denmark and the Netherlands. It has recently opened its first Spanish store.
Earlier this year, the company added juice bars to its offerings and is currently revamping and updating its offering.
O'Brien's is estimated by industry sources to have around a 10 per cent share of the takeout market. Fees and salaries to directors fell during the year and the number of employees working for the company founded by Mr Sweeney fell to 19 from 23 a year earlier.
Subsidiary companies in Britain, the United States and Singapore are still struggling to make a profit. The British operation made a loss of £717,734 (€1.03 million) for the year and has accumulated liabilities of £1.74 million. It owes the parent group €3.14 million.
The company has recently withdrawn from the US market after losses in 2003 of $400,939 (€313,451), bringing total losses to $888,913. Its debt to the parent company stands at €747,208, while the Singapore unit now owes €129,215, having lost just 6,836 Singapore dollars in 2003.
A number of directors hold options over shares in the group. There are a total of 479 options outstanding at an exercise price of €1,075 each, including 174 granted during the year. The options are exercisable between three and seven years from the date they are granted.
The company appointed two new directors during the year, Mr Forbes Petrie and Mr Anthony Monnickendan. Mr Michael Spence retired from the board towards the end of 2003.
