Hickey's pharmacy chain coining it in as profits jump above €4m

The company employs about 280 people and has over two dozen stores across the country.

By Paul O'Donoghue Reporter, Fora

IRISH PHARMACY CHAIN Hickey’s is raking it in, as profits jumped by over a million euro to more than €4 million last year.

Hickey’s is one of Ireland’s largest independently owned retail pharmacy chains, with over two dozen stores spread across six counties. The majority of its shops are located in Dublin.

The company employs about 280 people across the country.

According to newly published accounts for Hickey’s Pharmacy Ltd, the business made a profit of just under €4.1 million during the 12 months to the end of February 2016. This compares to the €3 million profit it recorded during the previous year.

The company’s turnover rose by almost €2 million, increasing from €23.6 million to €25.4 million, while its cost of sales jumped by just over €1 million to €13.7 million.

Profits

After administrative expenses were accounted, the firm made an operating profit of €5.3 million.

After paying out about €675,000 in interest on bank loans and just over half a million euro in corporate tax, Hickey’s was left with a profit of €4.07 million.

90155691_90155691
Source: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

The accounts likely do not show the full picture for Hickey’s. The holding company behind the business, Drishlawn, re-registered as an unlimited company in 2014, meaning that its financial information is not publicly available.

The last public set of accounts published for Drishlawn show that it made a €7.3 million operating profit and had sales of over €46 million.

Staff costs

Patrick Hickey, John Lanigan and Stephen Butler are all directors at family-owned pharmacy chain.

The accounts for Hickey’s Pharmacy Ltd also show that the firm owed about €33 million to group companies as of the end February 2016.

The company employed 279 people during its 2016 financial year, up from 274 in 2015. Staff costs rose slightly from €4.1 million to €4.5 million. It had €3.1 million cash at bank and in hand as of the end of February.