Turnover at Glen Electric, the Northern subsidiary of Glen Dimplex, increased by stg£10 million (€14.5 million) to more than stg£681million (€988million) last year.
The subsidiary, which controls almost two thirds of the group’s overall business, covers Glen Dimplex’s sales in the North, Europe and North America.
Pre-tax profits at the company, which is registered in Newry, Co Down, remained static at stg£32.9 million (€47.7 million) for the year ending March 31, 2005, according to accounts just filed in the Companies Registry in Belfast.
The accounts do not include the company’s turnover in Ireland.
Its Irish parent company, Glen Dimplex, which is owned by businessman Martin Naughton, has unlimited status and is not required to file public accounts.
Glen Dimplex is one of the largest manufacturers of domestic heating appliances in the world, and also has a significant market share in the domestic appliance market. The group has factories in Louth, Kerry, Armagh and Down, and employs 2,500 people in Ireland.
It also has operations in Britain, Germany, France, Holland, Hungary, Canada and Scandinavia, and has recently entered the lucrative Chinese market.
According to its accounts, gross profits at Glen Electric increased from stg£202million in 2004 to stg£208 million last year, while operating profits remained consistent at stg£41 million.
The company had retained profits of stg£72 million at the end of the year, while shareholders’ funds jumped by more than stg£24million to stg£83.1 million.
During the year, the company spent stg£16.1 million on acquisitions including British gas boiler manufacturer, Halstead Boilers, and refrigerator company LEC Refrigeration.
Almost 90 per cent of the group’s turnover was recorded in Europe, just over 7 per cent in North America while the remainder came from the rest of the world.
Naughton became the sole shareholder of Glen Dimplex after buying the 26 per cent stake held by his former partner, Dublin businessman Lochlann Quinn, about three years ago for an estimated €200 million. Naughton established the company in 1973.
The company did not pay a dividend last year – it has paid out dividends to its shareholders of stg£27.8million over the three previous years.
According to the accounts, Glen Electric controls land and property valued at stg£76.8 million and plant and machinery worth stg£63.9 million.
It had stock worth more than stg£128 million at the end of the year.
The company employs 5,383 people, of whom 3,662 work in production and 1,059 in selling and distribution. The firm’s wages and salaries bill for the year totalled stg£115 million.
A note in the accounts said that due to the nature of its operations, the “˜”˜group is involved in various legal actions”. However, it states that it is “˜”˜not practical to accurately quantify the extent, if any, of any costs or awards which may accrue to the group as a result of these actions”.
Educated at De La Salle College, Dundalk, Naughton donated £1 million to Trinity College Dublin in 1996 and in 1999 gifted a further £1million to the National Gallery of Ireland, where his wife Carmel has served as chairwoman of the board.
From The Post.IE
