Bulgari Ireland revenue jumps as operating profit tumbles

Operating profits fell sharply at the Irish subsidiary of Italian jewellery and luxury goods group Bulgari in 2015, despite revenues jumping 9 per cent to €990 million from €906 million a year earlier.

Bulgari Ireland, which was previously central to a tax probe into the group’s activities, recorded an operating profit of €54.6 million, down from €106.8 million in 2014. Pre-tax profits totalled €67.4 million.

Newly-filed accounts show the company, which imports and exports jewellery and provides “intra-group finance” to the wider Bulgari group, paid a €35 million dividend to its parent company in 2015. This is unchanged from the previous year.

A breakdown of turnover shows €362 million in sales derived from the Far East with €203 million from Europe (excluding Italy), €126 million from the Middle East, €121 million from the Americas and €119 million from Japan.

Intercompany sales attributed for €710 million of revenues last year, versus €581 million a year earlier with third party and franchising sales totalling €281 million compared to €326 million in 2014.

Bulgari is owned by the giant luxury goods group, LVMH, whose portfolio of more than 70 brands includes Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy, Dom Perignon, Tag Heuer and Dior.

Bulgari was at the centre of a corporate tax avoidance investigation by Italian authorities involving its Irish subsidiary that resulted in the company making a settlement of €42 million in early 2014, despite maintaining it had done nothing wrong. The Irish unit, which employed 112 people last year, had staff-related costs of €10.9 million.