Comfort Keepers moves into the red following Sodexho takeover

Homecare group Comfort Keepers moved into the red last year following its takeover by international services group Sodexho.

Elder Home Care Limited, which trades as Comfort Keepers, reported a loss of more than €116,000 for the 12 months to August last year compared to a profit of €1.36 million in the previous eight-month period.

The loss came despite a 65 per cent reported rise in turnover to €20.1 million for the group. On a pro-rata basis, the company said turnover had risen 15 per cent.

There was a sharp increase in directors’ remuneration in the past year as well as a increase in the amounts allowed for depreciation of group assets.

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Difficulty recruiting

Sodexho acquired the home care business in 2015 from brothers Austin and Robert Power, who founded the group in 2005. It said at the time that it intended to use the acquisition to gain a foothold in the home care sector.

Comfort Keepers, which employs more than 1,200 people, offers non-medical services to clients in their homes across 18 counties.

In the accounts, the company cites the difficulty in recruiting carers due to alternative employment choices in a rising economy as one of the risks facing the group.

It said it expects to see turnover rise strongly “for the foreseeable future as Ireland has an ageing population and a preference for the elderly to be cared for in their own homes”.