Paypal reports 43% hike in pre-tax profits

Paypal’s Irish division saw its pre-tax profits soar by 43 per cent in the twelve months to December 31st 2013, as the company continued to expand its Irish operations.

Headquartered in Blanchardstown, Co. Dublin, with another operation in Dundalk, Co. Louth, Paypal's Irish operations provide customer support and shared services on behalf of the PayPal group, including transactions related to its parent, the online auction site eBay, as well as those completed on third party merchant sites.

According to the company's accounts, which have just been lodged with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), the outlook for Paypal in Ireland remains positive, as the group "plans to grow at a faster rate than ecommerce".

Sales at the US multinational’s Irish operations rose by 27 per cent to €130.5 million in the year, and it paid corporation tax at a rate of 12.7 per cent. The company did not pay a dividend during the year.

Employees at the company’s Irish operations increased by almost 20 per cent per cent to 1,871 during the year, while staff costs increased by 19 per cent, from € 78.27m to € 93.4m.

Plans to separate eBay and PayPal into independent publicly traded companies were announced last month, and the two companies will go their separate ways in 2015 following a 12-year alliance.