Pretax profit at one of the country’s largest waste management and recycling companies last year decreased by 27.5 per cent to €4.07 million.
According to accounts lodged by the Dublin-based Padraig Thornton Waste Disposal Ltd with the Companies Office the company recorded the decrease in pretax profit as revenue increased by 10 per cent from €71.1 million to €78.12 million.
The directors state that the company’s overall operating results improved last year as the 2017 €5.6 million pretax profit was boosted by an exceptional gain of €3.4 million from the sale of land that year.
The directors state that poor commodity prices for paper, plastics and cardboard were experienced during last year with overall revenue from recyclables down €1.43 million year on year. The directors state: “This fall in revenues necessitated a price increase to customers.”
On the risks facing the company, the directors state that the global recycling market has not recovered since its collapse in January 2017 and prices obtained for this material continue to be poor.
The directors’ report states that the increase in revenue was mainly achieved through organic growth and increased tonnage handled.
Numbers employed by the company last year increased by 25, or 6 per cent, to 473 as staff costs increased from €18 million to €20 million.
The directors state that staff costs also increased as staff were awarded a pay increase on July 1st last year.
Directors’ pay
Paul Thornton and Shane Thornton sit on the board and directors' pay last year declined from €309,559 to €290,974.
The directors state that the company will purse an organic and acquisitive growth strategy going forward and aims to complete a number of acquisitions during 2019/2020 subject to approval.
The pretax profit takes account of combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €5.75 million.
The company last year donated €40,000 to the LauraLynn charity.
The business’s insurance bill last year increased by 8.5 per cent from €643,271 to €698,436 as fuel costs increased by 16 per cent from €2.97 million to €3.46 million.
The business’s road tax bill increased from €114,393 to €120,613.
The company recorded a post-tax profit of €3.5 million after paying corporation tax of €548,208.
The company last year continued its expansion with €12 million spent on acquiring fixed assets and this followed an outlay of €7.2 million in 2017.
At the end of December last, the company had shareholder funds of €35.4 million that included accumulated profit of €29.5 million.
