MIDWEST COMPANY Ennis Lifts Ltd recorded a 28 per cent increase in pre-tax profits last year and paid €600,000 in an interim dividend to the company’s directors.

According to returns recently filed to the Companies Office, Ennis Lifts increased its profits to €1.55 million in 2007, from €1.2 million the previous year. However, in response to the economic downturn this year, managing director Garech McGuinness confirmed that the company has had 11 redundancies since June.

Mr McGuinness said: “It has been a difficult year, but 2008 has been in line with expectations and in accordance with the company’s business plan.”

He said the company has a relatively good order book in hand. “2009 will be a very challenging year for us all. It will be a difficult, difficult year. Harsh decisions will have to be made. Turnover in 2009 will be down and we will have to plan accordingly.”

Mr McGuinness said that because of the nature of the company’s work, Ennis Lifts is behind others in the slowdown in the construction industry. The company is engaged in the assembly, installation, maintenance and repair of hydraulic and electric lifts, serving a broad spectrum of industries throughout the country.

The accounts show that the directors’ emoluments increased from €774,000 in 2006 to €858,000 last year.

They also show that Mr McGuinness is the majority shareholder among the four directors, while the company’s cash at bank and in hand totalled €2.56 million.