A major motor distributor made profits of €1.5 million last year on the back of a 40 per cent increase in sales, the latest figures show.

According to accounts filed with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), DAF and Jaguar distributor, Armalou Ltd, had sales of €141.2 million in 2004.

This was a near 40 per cent increase on 2003, when the company posted a turnover of €101.4 million.

The cost of sales hit €125 million in 2004 from €87.6 million the previous year. Administration and distribution expenses increased by €2 million to €15 million.

This left the company with €2.2 million in operating profits for 2004, six times the €364,900 it earned under this heading a year earlier.

It made a further €365,200 gain from bank interest and other investment income, and paid a €1 million interest bill on its debts, leaving it with profits before tax for 2004 of €1.5 million, compared with €844,000 the previous year.

However, in 2003, Armalou made €1.6 million from the sale of assets, and earned a further €267,000 from investment income and paid €1.4 million in interest. These factors brought pre-tax profits to €844,000.

Also in 2003, the benefit of €200,000 in tax reliefs actually left it with a €53,600 tax gain. This increased its profit after tax to close to €900,000.

Last year, a tax charge of €421,800 left it with profits after tax of just under €1.1 million. The accounts show that its corporation tax charge for the year was €189,160 in 2004, compared with €105,500 in 2003.

In 2004, shareholders, including Conal O'Brien, Gabriel Hogan and Declan McCourt shared a dividend pay out of €157,600, compared with €70,000 in 2003.

The three are also directors, and their pay last year totalled €1.27 million, compared with €771,100 in 2003. The other directors are Donal Forbes, Gerard O'Farrell and Robert Barden.

This was included in a total wage bill of €9.6 million for the group during the year.

Wages and salaries for the group's 208 workers came to €8.6 million. Welfare costs added a further €800,000 to this. Its pension contributions were just over €237,600, compared with €395,500 in 2003.

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its workers. Staff numbers grew by 28 during 2004, the accounts show.

Its balance sheet shows that at December 31st, 2004, shareholders' funds had grown to €19.8 million from €18.9 million 12 months earlier.

After the dividend was taken out, the company made a net contribution to shareholders' funds of €933,000 at the end of 2004, compared with €891,000 in 2003.

Net debt at the end of the year was €10.4 million, compared with €2 million 12 months earlier. Stocks were valued at €33.6 million at the end of year, up from €21 million in 2003.

An increase to €31.2 million from €18.7 million in the value of its vehicles was largely responsible for the growth in the value of its stocks, the accounts show.

Armalou is based in Baldonnell in west Dublin and its primary business is motor distribution.

Its subsidiaries include DAF Distributors Ireland Ltd, Jaguar Daimler Ireland Ltd, the Spirit Motor Group, Irish Industrial Forklifts and Scanveco Ltd.