THORNTONS RECYCLING, one of the country’s largest waste disposal companies, more than doubled its profits last year to €832,000, despite pressure on turnover.

The company had posted a loss of €12.2 million in 2009, due to a €12.45 million impairment charge on the value of fixed assets, leaving a pre-tax profit before exceptional items of €347,000.

As well as more than doubling profits to €832,000 during the year ended December 2010, accounts for Pádraig Thornton Waste Disposal Ltd, show that the group recorded a 42 per cent jump in operating profits to €1.82 million, up from €1.28 million.

Turnover fell from €28.4 million in 2009 to €27.7 million last year.

The company said that while tonnage was up 2 per cent in 2010, the sales decline was mainly due to price reductions as a result of strong competition in the market.

The company increased its bad debt provisions reflecting the difficult local trading environment.

Costs were down by 7 per cent last year, due to the diversion of material from landfill. The accounts state that landfill charges for the year were €4.3 million, down from €6.1 million in 2009.

Administration costs rose by 9 per cent, due primarily to increased spend on advertising and IT as it launched its bin collection service in south Dublin.

Thornton’s Recycling was founded by Pádraig Thornton in 1979. The company, which is headquartered in ParkWest in West Dublin, offers residential as well as commercial waste collection services in Dublin, Meath and Kildare.

The company employed, on average, 214 employees last year, spending €8.2 million on wages and salaries, 164 of those employees were employed as drivers and operatives.

The group’s consolidated balance sheet shows that it had fixed assets worth €50.4 million at year end, down from just over €53 million in 2009.