Unilever Ireland returns to record profit
The Irish arm of Unilever last year returned a record pre-tax profit of €6.3m.
This comes after sustaining pre-tax losses of €8.9m in the previous year. The consumer goods giant sells the Ben & Jerry’s Ice-cream brand along with the Knorr and Hellman’s food brands. Unilever last year saw an 8.5 percent drop in revenues going from €263.95m to €230.92m.
Nick Johnson, managing director of Unilever Ireland, said yesterday: “With the ongoing investment made in our brands, our people and organisational capabilities Unilever is well-placed to be competitive in Ireland now and in future years.
“We have a strong portfolio of brands and market leadership across many of the categories in which we operate. Three million Irish consumers use our products every day.
“The changing Irish retail environment and consumer trends will be a key focus for the business to ensure we continue to offer our shoppers and consumers great products.”
A breakdown of the firm’s revenues show that €139.59m came from the sale of food products with €91.32m from detergent and toiletries.
Three directors who served during the year received total remuneration of €777,000 with the highest paid director receiving €270,000 including benefits in kind of €121,000.
Arising from the restructuring, numbers employed by the firm reduced from 143 to 113 with staff costs reducing from €18m to €13.3m.
