Profits and revenues surge at Waterford island hotel resort
€862,691 Increased Group’s 2021 Last Profit €3 To In 159m The From Pre Year Tax
Pre-tax profits at the luxury Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Resort last year increased more than threefold to €3.159m.
New consolidated accounts filed by the Seamus Walsh-owned Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Club Ltd show that the sharp increase in profits followed revenues more than doubling from €4.53m to €10.36m.
The group’s pre-tax profit increased by 266% from €862,691 in 2021 to €3.159m last year.
The group recorded operating profits of €3.6m, and interest payments of €446,959 reduced the firm’s profits to a pre-tax profit of €3.159m.
During 2022, the group also benefited from other operating income of €575,430 compared to €2.14m under the same heading in 2021.
The profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €452,978.
The resort is set on a 310-acre private island, accessible via a short crossing on the resort's private car ferry over the King’s Channel.
The new accounts, signed off on Monday, show that six of the 144 staff members are listed as ‘ferrymen’.
According to the directors’ report, they are satisfied with the 2022 results “which were driven from an increase in occupancy levels".
Mr Walsh bought the hotel resort from Nama for a reported €6m and the amount owed by the firm to Mr Walsh last year reduced from €5.66m to €3.45m.
A note states that €240,000 owed in interest to Mr Walsh accrued last year and this follows €240,000 accruing in interest in the prior year.
The resort includes the 19-bedroom, 16th-century castle hotel and 45 three- and four-bedroom self-catering lodges.
In their report, the directors highlight the rise in insurance claims against the group as a risk and challenge faced by the group.
They state that the company's policy is to minimise this risk by ensuring that sufficient insurance is in place; however, to avoid excessive insurance costs, the group has had to agree to a substantial excess on these claims each year.
Numbers employed last year increased from 113 to 144 as staff costs increased from €2.67m to €3.4m.
Last year, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ordered the hotel firm to pay Mr Walsh’s sister, Bernadette Walsh, a sum of €21,843 for her unfair dismissal from the business in September 2019.
In a separate decision in June this year, the WRC ordered the hotel firm to pay former general manager Ken Moore a sum of €12,000 for his unfair dismissal via redundancy in summer 2021.
A note attached to the new accounts under 'contingent liabilities' states that "there are ongoing legal cases pending against the company and subsidiaries within the group. At this stage, the outcome of the cases and any associated legal costs cannot be estimated reliably”.