The former Irish arm of consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) paid a €55 million dividend to its Swiss parent company in the year after it sold its last factory and exited manufacturing in the Republic.
Procter & Gamble (Manufacturing) Ireland Ltd, which once manufactured Oral-B toothbrushes, floss and power refills and Braun ethanol cartridges at the group’s plant in Newbridge, Co Kildare, now holds the group’s defined benefit pension scheme.
New accounts for the Irish entity covering the 12 months to the end of June last show it paid a €55 million dividend to Swiss-registered Procter & Gamble International at the end of 2023.
The company, which had no revenues or turnover in the year, had total assets of almost €71.5 million, down from €124.6 million in the previous year.
P&G Manufacturing had total pension obligations of nearly €145.5 million at the end of June 2024 and pension plan assets of €195 million. The company operates a defined benefit scheme, which is now closed to new entrants, according to a note attached to the accounts.
P&G pulled the plug on its final manufacturing presence in Ireland in 2022 with the sale of its oral hygiene plant in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
The plant was taken over by Indian healthcare manufacturer Mapaex, which paid €45 million into the company’s pension scheme as part of the protracted $10.5 million (€9.95 million) sale of the business that was first announced in November 2020.
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Last month, the US-headquartered group cut its annual sales and profit outlook, citing tariffs and volatility in consumer demand.
At the time, P&G said it expects earnings per share in the current fiscal year, which ends in June, to be in the range of $6.72 to $6.82 per share versus $6.59 in the prior year. That’s below the company’s January outlook.
Group chief executive Jon Moeller told CNBC in an interview that the company will likely roll out price increases during its next fiscal year, which starts in July. “Tariffs are inherently inflationary,” Mr Moeller said.
He said the Trump administration has been “very open to dialogue” but that the company is spending a “fair amount of time” trying to figure out where the economy is headed. “Our job isn’t to design policy. Our job is to optimise the business outcome against the backdrop of that policy.” He also noted that the weaker dollar has been “a help recently”.
