THE COMPANY behind Pizza Hut, KFC and Costa Coffee’s Irish operations recorded a pre-tax profit rise of 58 per cent for the year ending January 31st, 2009, according to documents filed at the Companies Office.
MBCC Foods (Ireland) Ltd defied the recession by posting a pre- tax profit of just over €1 million last year. This compared with a surplus of €650,102 in the previous year.
The food company’s principal shareholders are Edinburgh-based brothers Raju and Sundeep Tuli.
While MBCC was profitable, its parent group posted an overall loss last year.
Tuli (Holdings) Ireland posted a pre-tax profit of €604,986 over the same period, a third of its recorded pre-tax profit a year earlier.
However, the company posted an overall loss once taxes and minority interests were taken into account, leaving a deficit in its shareholders’ funds of €486,678 for the financial year.
The group’s turnover stood at €51 million for the year ending January 2009, a drop of €1.6 million on the previous year.
Tuli’s net debt fell from €29.2 million at February 1st, 2008, to €27.1 million at the end of January 2009.
As well as its interests in MBCC, Tuli also has interests in the clothing retail business The Jean Scene (Ireland) and property rental company Kashmiri Properties.
Tuli employed 906 staff over the course of the year, an increase of 99 on the previous 12 months, with wage costs of over €12.5 million. MBCC employed 605 staff.
The Tuli brothers are among Scotland’s richest Asian businessmen, having built The Jean Scene into one of that country’s most successful retail businesses.
The initial funding for their business was given to the pair by their mother in the form of a £3,000 loan.
The directors listed increased interest rates, further deterioration in the economic environment and adverse exchange rate movements among the principal risks to the future of the company.
Costa Coffee is owned by the UK hospitality giant Whitbread while both Pizza Hut and KFC are owned by Yum! Brands.
In Ireland all three companies are operated by MBCC Foods.
