By Gordon Deegan
Losses at the group which owns three five-star Kerry hotels, Dunloe Castle Hotel, Ard na Sidhe, and Europe Hotel and Resort, significantly widened last year.
Newly-filed accounts for Killarney Hotels Ltd show the group’s pre-tax losses increased by more than 34% last year, from €5.5m to €7.4m.
The hotel group’s revenues, meanwhile, declined by over 10% to €17.2m.
However, the revenue decline was largely attributed to the Dunloe property being closed for refurbishment for much of 2017.
Hefty non-cash depreciation charges of €6.1m affected the group’s losses, meanwhile.
The group’s owners said last year’s performance was “in line with expectation”.
However, they also cautioned that tourism may start to feel the short-to medium-term impact of Brexit and “the troubling state of the EU”.
“Killarney Hotels must continue to evolve in order to add value to the customer’s experience and outperform its competitors by addressing those issues,” said management.
The figures show that the group generated €16.7m of its revenues through its hotels and €475,530 through the operation of a 200-acre farm.
The company also recorded a net loss of €264,925 on the sale of property, plant and equipment.
The company received an additional €3m from ultimate parent firm, Liebherr International, bringing to €47m the amount owed to the parent company at the end of last year.
