PJ Carroll profits hit by black market
Pre-tax profits fell 36%, to €5m, as gross revenues declined to €205.63m, from €215.3m in the previous year.
“The black market remains a huge challenge facing the business,” the company said, as it commended the gardaí and Revenue for their efforts in fighting the illicit trade.
The directors said the illicit trade here is larger than in many EU countries, due to the high prices of tobacco products, following a series of budget hikes.
They also cite, as a risk facing the company, future regulatory measures, such as plans by the Government for plain-packaging legislation.
The firm’s revenues included excise taxes and other taxes of €179m. Its net revenues fell to €26.49m, from €30.2m.
Revenues have fallen over a number of years.
Earlier this year, Health Minister Simon Harris signed regulations transposing an EU directive into Irish law, which includes increased size for health warnings on both the front and back of packs.
The company, last year, paid a dividend of €1.72m, down from the payout it made of €4m in 2015.
Staff numbers fell to 29 from 33 and also spent €1m on redundancies in 2016.
Staff costs last year increased from €1.99m to €2.7m, while interest payable rose to €994,000, from €629,000.
A note attached to the accounts also confirms that, at the end of last year, there were two plaintiffs with product-liability cases against the company in the Irish courts.
