Spirit Motor owner doubled profits while taking subsidies

Pretax profits at the OHM Group, which distributes Jaguar and Land Rover brands here, soared by 90pc last year to €4.23m.

New accounts filed by Armalou Holdings Ltd, which operates the Spirit Motor Group, show that profits increased sharply at the moor group after revenues surged by €55m or 29.4pc from €187.4m to €242.53m.

The accounts disclose that two of the group’s subsidiaries received €732,382 in Covid-19 wage subsidy payments during the year but subsequently the group voluntarily repaid the entire subsidy received after ‘trading was resilient”.

The directors explain that “in 2021, given the uncertainty of the impact of Covid-19 restrictions imposed on the group’s operations, two group companies satisfied the criteria to obtain government grants, which were available to companies to safeguard employment during the Covid-19 pandemic”.

In a post balance sheet event, the directors state that “as the group’s trading was resilient over the remainder of the year, the group voluntarily repaid all grants received”.

On the overall performance of the business, the directors state that “despite the unprecedented challenges and uncertainties associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and the global shortages in raw material for new vehicles, demand for new and used vehicles was strong throughout 2021 and the market demand remains buoyant”.

The directors state that “transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs) is now well under way, as sales of Battery EVs and Plug-In hybrid EVs continue to increase year on year both for the group and nationally.”

The group recorded operating profits of €4.98m and interest payments of €757,000 reduced profits to a pre-tax profit of €4.23m.

The company recorded post tax profits of €3.64m after paying corporation tax of €587,000.

Numbers employed by the group last year increased to 251 made up of 154 in sales and support and 97 in service as staff costs last year totalled €15.92 million.

Directors’ pay decreased by 34pc from €1.5m to €988,000.

The pay to the group’s key management personnel, made up of directors and management, last year decreased from €3.76m to €3.33m.

The group last year paid out a dividend of €348,000.

At the end of December shareholder funds stood at  €32.42m. Cash funds were €13.9m.