The Conrad Hotel on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin
A stay by US President Joe Biden and his entourage at the five-star Conrad Hotel in Dublin in April 2023 contributed to hotel revenues increasing by 14.5pc from €18.68m to €21.39m last year.
However, the presidential seal of approval for the 192-bedroom hotel on Earlsfort Terrace could not prevent pre-tax profits decreasing by 18pc to €2.42m for the 12 months to the end of September last.
New accounts filed by hotel firm Earlsfort Centre Hotel Proprietors (ECHP) Ltd show that higher wage growth and supplier pricing brought about by high inflation contributed to the drop in pre-tax profits.
The directors state that the company’s results “continued to improve on 2022 through an increase in occupancy as well as an increase in the average rate charged driven by the improvement in the Dublin market”.
The directors state that the company’s projections for 2024 “assume relatively limited growth in terms of room rates off the back of a strong 2023 with occupancies growing slightly across the year”.
The company is in a much stronger position compared with the prior year as the impacts of Covid-19 continue to lessen, the directors said.
The hotel, which was sold to Dutch-based hotel investor Archer Hotel Capital in 2019 for a reported €118m, recorded operating profits of €3.03m last year.
Interest payments of €616,966 resulted in pre-tax profits of €2.42m.
The company recorded post-tax profits of €1.84m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €578,554. The hotel is subject to a long-term management agreement with Hilton Hotels (Ireland) Ltd who operate the hotel under its Conrad brand.
Numbers employed increased from 175 to 179 as staff costs rose from €6.04m to €7.18m. The company’s profits were also hit by ‘other operating income’ made up of temporary business energy support scheme credits of €528,591 in 2022 decreasing to €65,350 last year. The business received a cash injection of €2m during the year.
The profits also take account of non-cash depreciation costs of €2.03m in 2023.
At the end of September 2023, the company had shareholder funds of €10.96m. Cash funds totalled €12.6m.
On the principal risks and uncertainties facing the company, the directors list “reduction in international travel as a result of climate concerns over business and leisure travel”.
