The company that operates the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) last year enjoyed record pretax profits of €18.23 million.
Accounts filed by the facility’s operator, Spencer Dock Convention Centre Dublin DAC, show that pretax profits increased by 23 per cent from €15.24 million to €18.23 million as revenues rose by 37 per cent from €23.9 million to €32.65 million in 2023.
2023 was the first year at the 8,000 capacity centre without any Covid-19 restrictions since 2020. the facility sustained a cumulative pandemic revenue hit of €34.5 million across 2020 and 2021.
In 2023, income from events increased by 67 per cent to €25.6 million as the venue in 2023 welcomed 159,396 people across 131 events and this compared to the 95,002 people who attended 109 events during 2022.
The Office of Public Works owns the convention centre building on North Wall Quay while the operating company will continue to run the facility until 2035.
Operating profits at the CCD firm increased by 121 per cent from €3.8 million to €8.45 million and net interest payments received of €9.28 million contributed to the pretax profits of €18.23 million.
Chief executive of Spencer Dock Convention Centre Dublin, Stephen Meehan, said that the facility “had an excellent trading performance last year”.
“There is a strong demand for world-class venues such as The CCD and Dublin remains a very attractive location for international conferences and meetings,” he said.
In June of last year, leading investor and active manager of core infrastructure assets, the John Laing Group completed the purchase of the of the operating licence for CCD from the Irish Infrastructure Fund.
The new accounts show that a dividend of €18 million was paid out to its new owners in October 2023.
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