Profits rise at ADM Londis

ADM Londis, the retail co-operative which last year rejected a £10 million (€12

ADM Londis, the retail co-operative which last year rejected a £10 million (€12.7 million) takeover by the Northern Ireland group Hendersons, has increased its pretax profits for 1998 to £1.02 million. The 1998 pretax figure, however, is distorted by several once-off items totalling £900,000, which increased the co-op's operating expenses from £5.2 million to £6.1 million. Gross profits rose from £7.2 million to £8.1 million, although turnover was up by just 6 per cent to £104 million, partly due to the move by some ADM Londis members to another franchise. On a like-for-like basis, net profits were up 35 per cent.