BWG Foods ‘suffered no ill effects from Covid pandemic’

BWG Foods ‘suffered no ill effects from Covid pandemic’

The retail business owns and operates the Spar, EuroSpar, Mace, Londis and XL brands in the Republic, working in partnership with independent retailers with more than 1,000 stores across the country.

Its latest set of accounts lodged with the Companies Registration Office, covering the year ended September 30th, 2021, show it achieved turnover of €1.4 billion over the period, which was up from €1.37 billion the year before.

The company generated an operating profit of €38 million, which was down slightly from €38.2 million the year before. The profit for the year, after taxation and minority interests, amounted to €32.4 million, down from €33.6 million.

The group said the Covid-19 pandemic had a “variable impact” across different sectors of its business but “has not impacted negatively on the overall business”.

The group had shareholder funds of €79.8 million, which were down from €81.9 million. Total comprehensive income for the year amounted to €35.9 million, down from €39.7 million.

The average monthly number of employees, including the directors, during the year was 1,265, which was up from 1,197 the previous year. Staff costs, including directors’ remuneration, amounted to 62.7 million, up from €58.5 million the year before.

Earlier this year, BWG said it was investing €6.5 million in new smart technology that anticipates customer behaviour based on factors such as local weather, sporting events and even social media activity. It then orders in stock automatically for stores.

The artificial intelligence-based predictive stock-ordering solution aims to reduce the amount of time shop owners spend compiling orders, while also allowing them to benefit from additional purchases on items they might not know would be in demand.