Profits at Des Kelly Carpets jumped 43 per cent last year to €1.25 million, recovering from a decline the previous year.

The company, which has a chain of 13 stores in Dublin and nearby commuter towns, also made almost €1.4 million in exceptional gains from the sale of fixed assets.

The company benefited from a 9 per cent rise in gross profit to €7.2 million, while administrative expenses were just 5 per cent higher than in 2003.

The figures cover the 12-month period to the end of April last year.

Pretax profits, including exceptionals, were €2.35 million compared with €577,522 the previous year. Net profits of €1.88 million were transferred to reserves, which now stand at €4.24 million.

The figures represent a recovery for the group, which saw operating profits slip more than 13 per cent in 2003 to just under €880,000 from €1.01 million the previous year. The performance was boosted by a 19 per cent rise in rental income to €424,398.

Directors Des and Youlanda Kelly, the only shareholders of the company, received remuneration of €305,683 from the company in the year, up almost 3 per cent on 2003. No dividend was paid.

Wages and salaries to the group's 112 employees rose 5.5 per cent to €3.7 million.

The figures do not include results for the Des Kelly store in Sallynoggin in Dublin, which is treated as a separate company.

Company assets, less current liabilities, rose sharply in the 12-month period to just over €13 million. In the year to the end of April 2003, they stood at €9.2 million.

The accounts note that the company made charitable donations of €24,402 during the year, up from €3,655 in the previous 12-month period.