Profits up at Lowry's refrigeration firm

Michael Lowry's refrigeration installation and maintenance business made a pre-tax profit of €472,568 last year, a significant improvement on the previous year, according to accounts lodged recently with the Companies Registration Office.

The independent North Tipperary TD's company, Garuda Ltd, suffered a loss of €603,271 in 2005. The company incurred an exceptional charge that year of €1.12 million - a tax payment arising from a Revenue inquiry into its affairs.

Garuda, which famously used to have only one client, Dunnes Stores, is understood now to have a number of other major retailers on its client book. The business had a turnover of more than €6 million last year, according to an informed source.

The company had net assets at the end of 2006 of €1.1 million and its creditors included Mr Lowry, who was owed €653,346. Mr Lowry loaned the company more than €1 million in 2005, to allow it pay its tax bill. He has in the past said he had to sell assets and remortgage property to raise the funds required to settle his tax affairs.

The directors of Garuda are Mr Lowry and his brother Patrick. During 2006, the directors received total emoluments of €246,491.

A note in the accounts refers to the 1997 McCracken (Dunne payments) tribunal and the Revenue's dealings with the company arising out of evidence heard at the tribunal.

"The company has made payments to the Revenue Commissioners totalling €1.26 million in order to discharge the liabilities arising from this matter.

"The directors do not anticipate any further liability. The directors have made available the necessary finance to enable the company to continue trading for the foreseeable future."

Mr Lowry is also the owner and a director of Abbeygreen Consulting Ltd, a company he uses when providing refrigeration consultancy services. The abridged accounts for that company to the end of 2006 indicate it was more active in that year than in 2005.

Assets at the end of the year included stock of €654,625 and cash of €554,040. Net assets were €492,111. This compared with a net asset figure of €85,255 the previous year.

Creditors included €59,999 in directors' loans, €47,622 in corporation tax and €597,000 categorised as "user definable loan desc." Mr Lowry owns 95 per cent of the company and his fellow director, Patrick Lowry, owns the remainder.

Mr Lowry, a former Fine Gael TD and government minister, topped the poll in North Tipperary in the recent general election. He and his company were named in the most recent tax defaulters' list in relation to tax settlements totalling €1.45 million. He did not wish to comment about his business affairs yesterday.

The Moriarty tribunal into payments to politicians, which was established in the wake of the McCracken tribunal, is due to issue its report on Mr Lowry later this year or possibly early next year.