THE COMPANY that operates the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise across Ireland went into the red last year, sustaining after-tax losses of €469,722.

Documents just filed with the Companies Office show Herbel Restaurants (Ireland) Ltd recorded a 10 per cent drop in operating profits from €5.1 million to €4.6 million to the end of December last.

However, the company, which operates 18 KFC outlets in Ireland, sustained the after-tax loss of €469,722 after bank loan repayments of €3.5 million and the loss of €1.1 million on the sale of a fixed asset were recorded.

The directors stated that, despite the economic conditions, the KFC franchise business continued to trade well.

The figures show that the company’s revenues declined by 4.5 per cent from €24.4 million to €23.3 million.

However, the directors’ report pointed out that revenues from the KFC restaurant business marginally increased from €20.7 million to €20.8 million; the drop in revenues is attributable to the fall in rental income of €1.1 million, from €3.6 million to €2.5 million, from the company’s property investment portfolio of €90.4 million.

The group’s two directors are Belfast businessman Michael Herbert and his wife, Leslie.

The company is well-placed to deal with the uncertainties that exist in the current economic downturn, they said in their directors’ report.

The figures show the company had accumulated profits of €8.7 million, with shareholder funds of €40.3 million. The numbers employed by the company last year increased by 14 to 232, with staff costs at €6 million.

Separate accounts filed by parent company Herbel Restaurants Ltd in the UK show that it recorded a post-tax loss of £2.2 million for the Herbel group last year.

The Belfast-based group is the largest KFC franchise in Europe, operating in the Republic, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

The group’s revenues, including those for Ireland, last year remained flat at £64.5 million.