The British arm of Dunnes Stores reported an operating profit of £2.3m (€2.5m) in the financial year to the end of last January, up from £1.5m in the previous period, new accounts filed for the business show.

Turnover at the unit shrank however, from £35.1m (€38.8m) to £29.3m, while the division also paid an interim dividend to £268,000 (€297,000) — half the amount paid in the previous year.

The accounts for the British subsidiary do not include results from Dunnes Stores outlets in Northern Ireland, and relate to its 11 shops at cities including Glasgow, Leeds and Bradford in Scotland and England. The stores sell textiles and homeware and the accounts state that directors are “pleased” with current trading levels.

Unit

The UK unit is the only division of Dunnes Stores’ operations that sheds any light on the group’s performance, as the rest of the business is unlimited and so does not have to file publicly available accounts.

The performance of the UK division has, however, deteriorated over the past number of years. Back in 2001, the British arm reported pre-tax profits of £4.2m, compared to £2.2m in its latest period.

The 2001 figure, which was also for 11 stores, represented a 36pc year-on-year increase. Turnover in 2001 was £38.5m, which was a 20pc year-on-year increase.

Last week, the Irish Independent revealed that the third in command at Dunnes Stores, chief operating officer Andrew Street, has left the retailer. He was the most senior non-family director after Margaret Heffernan and Frank Dunne.

- John Mulligan

Irish Independent

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Tags: Dunnes Stores, Profit