Profits dip at Athlone Extrusions

Athlone Extrusions, the plastics manufacturer once part of Sean Quinn's business empire, saw profits slip slightly last year despite a 3 per cent growth in sales.

The company, which was acquired this year by Swiss rival Schweiter Technologies in a €48 million deal, made a pre-tax profit of €5.46 million in 2016, according to accounts just filed at Companies Office. That was just over 6 per cent less than the €5.76 million profit recorded in 2015.

The company suffered a €548,000 loss on foreign exchange transactions compared with a gain of €437,000 the previous year. Much of that relates to sterling’s post-Brexit weakness as the UK accounts for a large portion of sales.

Athlone Extrusions had previously disclosed sales of €63.67 million last year, up from €61.6 million in 2015. Ireland accounts for just over 11 per cent of sales, with the balance split evenly between the UK and other markets.

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The company spent close to a quarter of a million euro on restructuring costs in the 12-month period, nearly twice as much as the €129,000 spend in 2015.