Remote workers and 'lockdown consumers' helped coffee retailer Nespresso brew up record Irish revenues in 2021.
New accounts filed by Nespresso UK Ltd show that its Irish sales increased by £456,000 from £28.7 million to a record £29.15 million (€33.99 million) for the 12 months to the end of December.
The Nestle-owned company operates a number of boutique outlets here, including a flagship store on Dublin’s Duke Street, with Irish business translating to average weekly revenues of £560,711 (€653,844) last year.
Nespresso's 2021 sales were boosted by the Covid-19 lockdowns which led to the closure of cafes and restaurants for parts of the year.
The directors also said growth at the company “was boosted by e-commerce and the Virtuo system”, in addition to “a high demand from lockdown consumers and all those working from home, as well as a continued increase in consumer awareness for quality coffee and increased brand awareness for Nespresso”.
Underlining the growth of Nespresso here, last year's sales of £29.14 million are almost double Nespresso’s sales in Ireland for 2016, which were £14.7 million.
Despite the positives of 'Covid consumers', the annual accounts noted that the pandemic continued to be a challenge throughout 2021.
'Strong position'
Overall, directors said the company “continues to maintain a strong position and performance financially”, with Irish revenues (£29.15 million) making up 5.8 per cent of Nespresso's UK and Irish takings of £308.22 million.
The company’s UK revenues increased by £20 million to £279 million in 2021.
Nespresso’s pre-tax profits also increased by 4 per cent to £12.2 million last year, with the company recording a post-tax profit of £9.83 million after paying its corporation tax liability of £2.37 million. The profit takes non-cash depreciation and impairment costs of tangible fixed assets of £13.3 million into account.
A final dividend of £9.8 million was recommended by the directors for 2021, up from the £8.7 million final dividend paid in 2020.
The annual accounts also noted that Nespresso's employee count across Ireland and the UK fell from 783 to 684 last year, with staff costs totalling £31.1 million.
