Insomnia brews up strong increase in pretax profits

Directors set sights on growing business in Ireland and abroad following positive year

Insomnia's pretax profit in 2023 was up from €797,236 the previous year. Photograph: Eric Luke
Insomnia's pretax profit in 2023 was up from €797,236 the previous year. Photograph: Eric Luke

The firm behind the Insomnia coffee chain has posted a more than threefold increase in pretax profits, reaching €2.49 million in 2023.

Accounts filed by BHJ Holdings Ltd show a 7 per cent increase in revenues from €37.32 million to €39.87 million. Its pretax profit was up from €797,236 in 2022.

Directors Harry O’Kelly, John Clohisey and Barry Kehoe stated they were satisfied with the performance of the group and “will look to further grow the business in Ireland as well as abroad”.

The company paid a dividend of €1.625 million during the year which the directors said was paid to the ultimate holding company, Insomnia Coffee Limited, a company incorporated in Malta.

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The directors stated that “no dividends were paid to directors by any group company during the year”.

Insomnia Coffee Company, which operates a chain of coffee outlets here and in the UK, is the country’s leading independent coffee shop chain and the fifteenth largest in Europe.

Its €39 million revenues for 2023 topped pre-Covid 19 revenues of €36.77 million in 2019. It included revenues of €39.16 million in Ireland and €714,853 in the UK.

Regarding future developments, the directors stated that the group plans to further develop and consolidate its existing activities in the coming year.

Now more than 25 years in business, Insomnia has grown from a single location in a Galway bookstore in 1997 to over 175 coffee shops throughout Ireland and the UK, both on the high street and in partnership with retailers. It also has over 600 self-service machines in operation.

The group’s operating profits totalled €4.69 million which takes account of €1.83 million in non-cash net depreciation costs and €106,679 in a non-cash impairment of assets.

It made a pretax profit of €2.49 million after paying interest charges of €251,834. The group had a post tax profit of €2.27 million after paying corporation tax of €217,000.

Numbers employed increased from 491 to 509 as staff costs increased from €12.65 million to €13.2 million.

The company continued to expand in 2023 as it paid out €3.1 million for the purchase of tangible fixed assets.

Shareholder funds at the end of 2023 totalled €8 million that included accumulated profits of €7.44 million. The group’s cash funds increased from €1.45 million to €3.23 million.