The Irish arm of catalogue retailer Argos has made a €200 million dividend payment following the company's exit from the Irish market in 2023.
In June 2023, the retailer closed 34 of its traditional stores and was able to pay out a dividend of 200 million euros following an internal financial restructuring carried out in November 2023.
The directors report that in November 2023 the company's issued share capital of €226.4 million was reduced by a similar amount through the repurchase and cancellation of €181.13 million of existing ordinary shares.
EUR 226.4 million was transferred to the company's retained earnings, allowing it to pay a dividend of EUR 200 million.
The closure of the Irish business in June 2023 resulted in the company's sales falling by 83 percent, from €120.95 million to €20.57 million, for the 12 months ended 2 March 2024.
The company is owned by British retail giant J Sainsbury plc and Argos Distributors (Ireland) Ltd made a loss of €43.4 million last year following a decision to close its chain of stores in Ireland, leading to the loss of 580 jobs.
The bulk of the €43.4 million in termination costs was attributable to severance pay of €23.2 million.
The company returned to profit last year, recording a pre-tax profit of €2.6 million after a pre-tax loss of €24.1 million the previous year, which was due to the closure of its retail chain.
The company's profit for the 2024 financial year was boosted by a €6.47 million loan from the restructuring program, which was not included as part of the €43.4 million production shutdown costs last year.
Personnel costs fell from €14.33 million to €4.3 million as the number of employees fell from 612 to 161.
The directors note that operating profit includes a foreign exchange gain of €5.95 million.
The company recorded a profit after tax of €1.1 million after paying income tax of €1.52 million.
The directors advise that as the company has ceased trading and will ultimately be liquidated, it is currently resolving its remaining legal and regulatory obligations as part of the liquidation process.
The directors say the company continues to settle outstanding liabilities and recover outstanding receivables.
As at the end of 2 March 2024, after dividend payments offset by profit after tax, shareholders' equity decreased from EUR 215.77 million to EUR 17.1 million.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
