Sales at the Irish arm of US fast food giant McDonald’s continued to rebound from the pandemic in 2023 despite a decline in operating profits, partially due to an increase in royalties due to its European parent company.
New accounts for McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland show that turnover increased by 8 per cent in 2023 to €85.7 million from €80.6 million in 2022 when it franchised out its Dublin Airport restaurant, its last owner-operated outlet in the Republic.
The company, which had 94 franchised restaurants in Ireland last year, has not itself operated any restaurants in the State since 2022.
The turnover figures relate to amounts charged to McDonald’s Irish franchisees, which increased year-on-year due to an increase in the “underlying turnover” of its franchise restaurants, the directors said in a report attached to the accounts.
Zuckerberg’s culture shift at Meta could make it hard to find new recruits willing to work in his macho organisation
Keeping sea lice from farmed fish will boost aquaculture health and profits
Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua review: Saving time and effort on household cleaning
Irish space race: domestic companies pushing the frontiers of AI, space stations and acoustic technology
Pretax profits, meanwhile, declined by 16 per cent from a record-high of €43.2 million in 2022 to €36.3 million last year.
The directors said the decline is largely due to an additional €2 million of depreciation as it expanded its asset base and a €2 million charge related to the disposal of property in 2023.
What is DeepSeek and why did it send global markets into meltdown?
McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland held land and properties valued at €137.2 million at the end of 2023, the accounts reveal, up from close to €127 million in the previous year. This includes assets under construction valued at close to €4.4 million at the end of 2023.
A €2.8 million increase in royalties paid to its European parent company, UK-headquartered MCd Europe Ltd, also contributed to the decline in pretax profits, the directors said.
The Irish entity also paid a dividend of €13.60 per ordinary share, totalling €51 million, to its parent company in the year, up from €25 million in 2022.
Last summer, McDonald’s unveiled plans to create 24,000 jobs across more than 200 new restaurants in the UK and Ireland over the next four years.
Details of the planned £1 billion (€1.2 billion) expansion were contained in a report to mark the franchise’s 50th anniversary in the UK and Ireland.
“The plans will also see a renewed focus on opening high street restaurants, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to supporting successful high streets across the country as town and city centres continue to evolve and respond to a variety of challenges,” the company said at the time.
- Sign up for the Business Today newsletter and get the latest business news and commentary in your inbox every weekday morning
- Opt in to Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
