PRETAX PROFITS at specialist student travel firm Usit shrank 70 per cent to just under €630,000 in the year to the end of October last.
According to accounts filed with the companies office, the decline in Usit Ireland’s profitability last year was due largely to a one-off fall in a non-core accommodation leasing business in UCD, which ceased trading in 2009.
The group also incurred an exceptional restructuring cost during the year of €320,364 which related to redundancies.
“Despite a challenging economic environment, the group performed extremely well as it continued to drive business through niche and new products,” the directors said in their report.
The underlying performance of Usit’s travel business improved in 2010, they said, with gross profit up on the previous year. However the group’s total gross profit dipped from €9.7 million to just below €8 million.
Usit delivered a net profit for the financial year of €423,196, down from €1.8 million in 2009.
Accumulated profits at year end stood at €1.4 million after the directors had paid out a dividend of more than €3 million. This compared with a dividend of just €12,000 in 2009.
After the year end, the directors proposed an interim dividend payment of €1.3 million to Usit Ireland’s parent company, the Irish-incorporated Kinlay group.
According to its accounts, Usit Ireland will continue to focus on the growth of “niche and sustainable earnings” through acquisitions and existing operations.
Usit was rescued from examinership in 2002 after struggling after the 9/11 attacks.