MICHAEL LOWRY’S refrigeration company, Garuda Ltd, made a pretax profit of €515,871 in 2008, according to accounts just filed.

The profit is an increase on the €454,815 figure achieved the previous year.

The company had shareholders’ funds of €1.9 million at the end of the year, with no dividend having been paid. Mr Lowry is the 100 per cent owner of the company.

The directors’ report accompanying the accounts state the main risk facing the firm is the recession.

The directors of the company are Mr Lowry and his brother Patrick. Directors’ emoluments during the year were €341,727, up from €252,887 the previous year.

At year’s end the company had work in progress valued at €1.68 million. Debts at year’s end included €44,073 owed to Abbeygreen Consultants Ltd, a company also owned by Mr Lowry.

Abbeygreen has not as yet filed accounts for 2008. Its abridged accounts for 2007 showed it had shareholders’ funds of €489,587 at the end of that year.

Mr Lowry’s Garuda company was the subject of an extended company law inquiry in the wake of the 1997 McCracken (Dunnes Payments) tribunal, and the company eventually made a €1.12 million tax settlement.

The independent TD for North Tipperary resigned as a Fine Gael minister in the rainbow government in 1996, following the revelation that extensive work on the renovation of his Tipperary home had been paid for by Dunnes Stores, and treated in the retailer’s books as work on a Dublin store.