Profits stable at skincare group Pestle & Mortar despite Covid

Accumulated profits at Irish skincare company Pestle & Mortar increased to €1.44 million in 2020.

That is according to new accounts for the Naas-based business as it recorded profits of €317,672 for the year, fractionally ahead of the 2019 figure.

The business – co-founded by husband-and-wife team Padraic and Sonia Deasy – has enjoyed exponential growth since it was established in 2014 with only one product and no employees.

Today, its skincare products are sold around the world and can be purchased at the likes of Bloomingdales in New York City and at stockists in countries including Australia, Russia, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Hong Kong and Thailand – as well as across Ireland and a number of locations in Britain.

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Cash funds

The business enjoyed a buoyant 2020 with cash funds increasing more than fourfold to €1.06 million.

The company moved into a new 929sq m (10,000sq ft) premises in Naas in 2019 and had the full-year benefit of this expansion in 2020.

Profits would have been even higher last year but for directors' pay almost tripling from €240,083 to €698,147 after numbers on the board increased from two to three. The board comprises Sonia and Padraic Deasy, and Robert Sood.

Online sales

In a note attached to the accounts on the impact of Covid-19, Pestle & Mortar states that restrictions “affected the manner in which the company operates and its performance, including the volumes of online sales, sales to distributors and retail stores, exports of finished goods and imports of materials”.

The note states that the directors “are satisfied that the company has the necessary resources and established supply chain to continue trading for the foreseeable future”.

“At the date of approval of the financial statements, the full effect of the pandemic and the steps taken by world governments cannot be reliably estimated as the situation is constantly evolving,” the company accounts stated.

A spokeswoman for Pestle & Mortar declined to comment.