Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of retailer Harvey Norman last year almost doubled from €9.78m to €17.13m.

New figures show that the electrical and furniture retailer recorded the jump in pre-tax profits as revenues increased by a more modest 2.3pc from €411.12m to €420.72m in the 12 months to the end of June 2022.

The directors for Harvey Norman Holdings (Ireland) Ltd state the 15 stores in the Republic “performed strongly with market share gains across a number of key product categories”.

The directors state that there were no Covid-19 closures in the year under review “and the business has performed better than expected in this financial year”.

They state that sales showed a 78pc increase compared with the pre-Covid year of 2019.

“This shows that the brand has gone from strength to strength and has grown market share in all its categories,” the directors said.

They state last year represented a “fifth straight year of profitability for the Irish business”.

Numbers employed by the group last year increased by 45, rising from 1,372 to 1,417, as staff costs increased marginally from €55.32m to €55.86m.

Pay to directors decreased from €872,520 to €699,203 made up of €685,203 in emoluments and €14,000 in pension contributions.

The company recorded post-tax profits of €14.73m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €2.39m.

The group also operates two stores in Northern Ireland and has expanded since opening a 42,000 sqft store in July 2022 at the Fonthill Retail Park close to the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Dublin.

The profit for last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €4.49m.

The directors state that the 2022 financial results “have benefited from the easing of Covid-19 restrictions which has resulted in increased consumer confidence and in-store foot traffic”.

They add that the increase in sales can be attributed to a full year’s uninterrupted contribution from the firm’s Galway and Sligo stores which opened in July 2020 and November 2020 respectively.

The directors, however, point out that “sales were more subdued in the second half of the year following the lifting of travel restrictions and the recommencement of travel outside Ireland”.

The group’s shareholder funds totalled €53.68m. The group’s cash funds declined from €20.9m to €1.5m after paying out for investment properties.

Reporting On:www.independent.ie