Profits at Swarovski Irish arm rose threefold prior to pandemic

Pretax profits at the Irish arm of fashion jewellery firm Swarovski increased more than threefold to €387,000 before Covid-19 impacted the business.

New accounts show that Swarovski Ireland Ltd recorded the sharp increase in pretax profits after revenues increased by 7.4 per cent from €4.77 million to €5.12 million in 2019.

The directors state that revenues at the company’s Kildare Village store increased by 15 per cent during the year while the performance of the Swarovski boutique stores exceeded the prior year by 10.7 per cent.

The directors said “while administration costs remained in line with prior year, distribution infrastructure costs were higher due in part to enhancements to the variable pay structure for retail employees and increases in variable rent payable”.

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Mandatory closure

“The higher margin on full year turnover ultimately resulted in a higher profit before tax in 2019,” they said.

On the business impact of Covid-19, the directors expect the most significant impact of the pandemic on the financial results would be due to the mandatory closure of its retail store and outlets.

The directors state that the company has taken measures aimed at reducing potential impacts on financial results from Covid -19 including adjusting capacity to the current demand environment, negotiating new payment terms with suppliers, landlords and retail partners, and utilising any government subsidiaries that are available when appropriate.

Numbers employed by the company increased from 39 to 43 as staff costs increased from €802,000 to €902,000.

At the end of December 2019, the company’s shareholder funds increased to €2.37 million.

Tiffany’s accounts

Separately, accounts filed by the Irish arm of jewellers Tiffany’s show that pretax profits at the company increased by 87 per cent to €198,000 in the 12 months to the end of January 31st, 2020.

The jewellery firm operates only one outlet in Ireland at Grafton Street’s Brown Thomas branch and new figures show that Tiffany & Co (Jewellers) Ltd recorded average weekly revenues of €76,692 in the year under review.

During the 12 months, the revenues increased by 19 per cent to €3.98 million.

The revenues also include online sales and the directors state that the company here enjoyed a gross profit margin of 50 per cent and a net pretax profit margin of 5 per cent.