Strong retail and hospitality demand last year drove the Blarney Woollen Mills group to a more than €4 million after-tax profit last year, despite a sharp rise in its cost base.
Blarney Woollen Mills Group Ltd, the main company behind the group’s stores across Munster and a hotel of the same name in Blarney, Co Cork, reported revenue of €55 million for the year to the end of January 2025 in consolidated group accounts filed with the Companies Registration Office.
Turnover at the group, which also operates the Meadows and Byrne chain, was little changed from the previous year.
Retail sales were marginally lower last year, accounting for almost €34.5 million of revenue, compared with €35.7 million in the previous year.
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Yet, hotel and restaurant sales rose by about 4 per cent year on year to €17.4 million from €16.7 million, according to the filings.
Profits after tax were also up slightly, from €3.7 million to €4.2 million, despite a sharp rise in the group’s costs.
In a report attached to the accounts, Blarney directors Freda Hayes and Fergus Gately said the financial results were “driven by a strong performance” in retail and hospitality.
Still, they warned that the “cost of doing business has continued to increase”.
Blarney Woollen Mills group employed some 507 people in the year, stable with the previous year, but its payroll costs jumped by more than 4 per cent to €15.1 million in the year.
The directors said the group’s business is “sensitive” to the performance of the global economy, “inflation, employment and general consumer confidence”. Blarney is also “continuously working on managing its overheads to reduce costs and improve gross margins”, they said.
Separate accounts filed by Meadows and Byrne reveal that operating profits at the retailer dropped by more than 22 per cent to almost €793,000 in the year to January last compared with the previous year.
Revenues declined slightly year on year to €22.3 million, and the company also grappled with a small rise in administrative costs to €10.8 million.
In the directors’ report, Ms Hayes and Mr Gately said demand for Meadows and Byrne’s products remained “strong”, but the “sourcing and pricing of key inputs” remained “challenging”.
The group celebrated 50 years in business in 2025.
