Irish arm of DHL delivers €8.4m profits as revenues rise

Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of delivery giant DHL last year increased by 4.5pc to €8.4m.

New accounts filed show that DHL Express (Ireland) Ltd last year recorded an increase in profits as revenues rose to €171.98m from €166.26m.

The company last year paid out an interim dividend of €5m.

The directors said the increase in revenues “represents a strong performance given the economic conditions in Ireland and indeed internationally”.

“The core international air express service – import and export – which represents the largest contribution to total turnover, is also the key driver of the growth generated through the year… international road, domestic and same-day services have also performed well and have delivered improved results,” the report said.

Across the international express market in 2023, there was a “post-Covid normalisation of international volume, most especially in relation to ecommerce shipments”.

Global supply chains continued to be affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine and later in the year by the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the directors said.

"The energy crisis and the impact of high inflation and weak (to negative) economic growth across most countries served to create challenging market conditions.”

They said that “given these circumstances the performance of the DHL Express business in Ireland, with growth in turnover and profit, is especially noteworthy”.

The company intends to continue to invest in the DHL Express Ireland business.

“In particular we will invest in our network infrastructure and facilities in order to strengthen our network and support our customers across the country,” they add.

Numbers employed by the business last year increased by three to 505, and staff costs increased from €29.86m to €32.7m. Owned by the German-based Deutsche Post, the firm last year recorded post-tax profits of €7.2m after paying corporation tax of €1.2m.

At the end of December, shareholder funds totalled €32m while cash funds increased from €20.88m to €24.6m.

The profit last year takes account of combined non-cash depreciation costs of €1m while directors’ pay totalled €813,111, made up of €618,076 in emoluments, €159,284 in benefits under a long-term benefit scheme and €33,751 in pension contributions.

The profit also takes account of lease costs of €4.8m.

Reporting on:independent.ie