Dublin convention centre doubles profits to €5m

The national conference centre doubled profits to €5 million last year, figures due to be filed with the Companies' Registrar show.

Accounts for Spencer Dock Convention Centre Dublin show that the company, which hosts conferences and events in its building on the capital’s quays, grew turnover by 158 per cent to €22.7 million last year from €19.3 million in 2014.

Operating profits, generated from the centre’s conference business, doubled to €5 million from €2.5 million over the same period. The company generated almost €30 million in cash.

Pretax profits were €17.8 million from a €5.8 million loss in 2014. However, this was due to a profit on financial instruments used to hedge the company’s bank interest liabilities.

Good year

Net debt was down to €103.4 million from €150 million. Net assets were €18 million on December 31st 2015.

Commenting on the results, chief executive Nick Waight said that 2015 had been a good year for the company.

“2014 was a challenging year for the business, however there has been a strong recovery in 2015 with revenue over 18 per cent higher than in 2014,” he said.

“This year will show a further revenue increase or around 5 per cent and the pipeline of business in 2017 also looks good.”

Mr Waight added that the 164 events that the centre hosted in 2015 attracted 384,000 delegates, which had a spin-off for hotels and the broader economy.

Events that were held there in 2015 included the Annual European Airfinance Conference, the Dell Solutions Tour, the Linux Foundation and the World Airway Management Meeting.

It also hosted this year's Airfinance gathering, Phocuswright Europe and the Alltech International Craft Brews and Food Fair.