The sharp rise in international online shopping during the pandemic contributed to revenue at the Irish arm of logistics giant DHL last year, surging by 37 per cent to €143.19 million.
The latest accounts for DHL Express Ireland Ltd show pretax profit last year increased by 27 per cent from €4 million to €5.09 million.
The Dublin-based firm recorded the €1.08 million rise in pretax profit as revenue rose by €38.86 million from €104.32 million to €143.19 million.
According to a note with the accounts, a key trend during 2021 “has been the significant increases in international ecommerce volumes across our network”.
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“This is especially apparent in relation to our inbound delivery volume with growth driven by Irish consumers shopping online with international retailers,” the accounts said.
“These higher delivery volumes in turn are reflected in the increased staff costs and other operating expenses.”
Revenue last year increased ‘significantly’ on 2020 and “represents a very strong recovery from 2020 which was heavily impacted by the pandemic”, the accounts said.
The company noted that its core international air express service – import and export – represented the largest contribution to total turnover and was also a key driver of growth during the year.
With commercial airlines operating much-reduced services during 2021 due to Covid-19, there was a strong demand for international express services throughout the year, the accounts said. “This strong market demand has contributed to the success of the business in 2021.″
The company provides door-to-door pick-up and express delivery to and from Ireland to more than 220 countries worldwide.
Numbers employed by the company last year increased from 393 to 445 as staff costs rose from €22.7 million to €26.6 million.
The accounts said that further investments are planned in 2022 to strengthen the DHL network in Ireland.
On the challenge posed by Brexit, the company said it had recruited significant numbers to its customs and finance teams to handle the additional customs entries and finance administration.
It said the changes brought about by Brexit are now part of our ‘business as usual’ process and as such Brexit did not represent a future risk to the business.
Owned by the German-based Deutsche Post firm, it last year recorded post-tax profit of €4.24 million after paying corporation tax of €674,137. At the end of December last, shareholder funds totalled €22.2 million, while cash funds increased from €17.2 million to €20.88 million.
The profit last year takes account of combined non-cash amortisation and depreciation costs of €1.89 million, while directors’ pay increased from €668,124 to €842,265.
The profit also takes account of impairment debtor costs of €683,911 and lease costs of €3.5 million.
