Dunnes Stores UK textile division profits fall 55% to £1.2m

Profits at a UK subsidiary of Irish retailer Dunnes Stores fell by 55 per cent to £1.2 million in the year ended February 1st, 2014, its latest accounts show.

Accounts for Dunnes Stores (UK) Ltd, which handles textiles and homeware goods, also show a decline in turnover. Revenues fell to £24.5 million from £27.6 million in the previous year.

No dividend was paid to its immediate parent company, Dunnes Stores (Bangor) Ltd, another UK-based entity, unlike in 2013 when a payment of £237,000 was made.

Tax bill The cost of sales at the UK subsidiary declined to £13.6 million from just under £15 million while its operating expenses reduced by 3.4 per cent to just over £10 million.

The company’s tax bill reduced to £238,000 from £756,000 in the previous year. This left the retailer with an after-tax profit of £966,000, boosting its reserves to more than £20 million. Dunnes Stores UK Ltd closed the year with 266 employees, 53 fewer than in 2013. The number of retailing staff reduced to 243 from 305 previously but the number in administrative roles rose to 23 from 14. Staff payroll costs reduced by 7.7 per cent to £3.2 million.

Accounts for Dunnes overseas subsidiaries are the only window on its financial performance as it is an unlimited company in Ireland, and therefore not required to publish its statutory accounts.