Revenues at Sunway Travel up to over €40m as rebound from Covid continues

New accounts show the Dublin- based business has rebounded from the ­Covid-19 overseas travel shutdown as revenues increased by 20pc from €33.93m to €40.76m in the 12 months to the end of last October.

The pre-tax profits of €1.07m follow pre-tax profits of €939,369 in fiscal year 2022, which were skewed by other operating income of Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme support payments to the value of €267,767 for that year.

The directors state: “The company plans to continue its present activities and current trading levels.”

The company’s gross profit increased by 15pc to €5.63m after its cost of sales rose by 21pc from €29.02m to €35.12m.

The company’s operating profits increased marginally from €1.027m to €1.082. Interest received was €34,003 compared with €41,105 in interest paid out in 2022, which contributed to the higher pre-tax profits.

The business has continued to grow since the pandemic, with numbers employed increasing from 46 to 53 last year. That figure is made up of 29 in sales and 24 in administration. Staff costs last year dipped from €3.48m to €3.46m despite the increase in headcount. A family-run business, Sunway was founded by Ms Airey’s grandfather, Roy Beatty, in 1966.

Ms Airey started working in the business at the age of 18 and stepped down as CEO in 2019. She remains a director of the business.

The revenues for last year comfortably surpass pre-Covid-19 revenues of €33.12m recorded in the 12 months of the end of October 2019. Underlining the Covid impact on the business, revenues plummeted by 70pc, or €23.1m, due to the shutdown of the travel industry for much of 2020.

The 2023 staff costs include directors’ remuneration and directors’ pay last year climbed by 17.5pc from €868,334 to €1m. The three directors are listed as Tanya Airey, Philip Airey and Brian McGovern.

During the first year of the ­pandemic, directors slashed their pay by 74.5pc.

The company’s loss for last year takes account of combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €70,085.

The company’s shareholder funds totalled €3.9, including accumulated profits of €3.46m. The company’s cash funds reduced from €15.44m to €10.17m.

The business recorded post-tax profits of €927,538.