This article is from page 2 of the 2007-08-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
SHANNON tool manufacturer Mo- hawk Europa paid out over €2 mil- lion to its shareholders according to the most recent accounts returned to the Companies Office.
The €2 million paid out predated a management buy-out of the company on April 29, 2005 and the company accounts state that the “retained earn- ings at this time were 1n excess of the amount of dividend paid out”’.
The accounts cover the period April 2005 to April 2006 and high- light the deteriorating finances of the company.
They show that the company suf-
fered an operating loss of €1.3 mil- lion to the end of April 2006 and this followed an operating loss of €8§00,000 in 2005.
The accounts show that the com- pany’s ‘administration expenses’ increased by over €500,000 during 2006 from €1.5 million to €2.09 mil- lion.
However, during the same period, the company’s “gross profit’ remained static at €1.7 million.
The paying out of the €2.1 million dividend ensured that the company’s loss at the end of April 2006 was €3.45 million.
This ensured that the company’s ac- cumulated profits at the end of April
2005 of €2.5 million became a loss of €938,000 at the end of April 2006.
The accounts state, “The company is engaged in the manufacture of spe- cial cutting tools in high speed steel, solid carbide and carbide tipped.
“The company was the subject of a management buy-out during the pe- riod.”
As a result, restructuring charges of €833,325 were incurred and a divi1- dend of €2,121,000 was paid prior to the management buy out on April 29, 2005.
Consequently, a substantial loss has been reported.
The accounts state that “the man- agement buy-out team, consisting of
Seamus O’Callaghan, Kieran Joyce, Adrian Freeman, Dan Leonard and Derek Whyte, are regarded as being the ultimate controlling party”.
Underlining the impact the closure of the company will have on the lo- cal economy, the accounts show that €3.1 million was spent on wages in PAU Tey
This was €500,000 down on the €3.6 million paid out in 2005 and the sav- ings were made through the facility cutting its workforce from 116 to 103. The company’s balance sheet also showed a deterioration, with share- holders funds halving from €7 mil- lion at the end of April 2005 to €3.5 million to the end of April 2006.