Harcourt posts profit of €23m and reduces debt

Reported today on Irish Examiner

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Harcourt posts profit of €23m and reduces debt

Pat Doherty's Harcourt Developments have sold sites in Las Vegas for $14m (€12.6m) and in Latvia for €2m to help reduce the group's €630.4m debt.Accounts by the group's Marzocco Unlimited also confirm the business had agreed to sell Clonmannon House in Co Wicklow.Marzocco returned to the black in 2018 to post a pre-tax profit of just over €23m as revenues increased by 43% to over €96.3m.It booked a gain of over €21.4m on a revaluation of assets and also paid net interest of €31.3m. The group business includes offices, hotels, and a number of major shopping centres in Ireland, including the Titanic in Belfast and centres in Limerick and Galway. The hotels include the five-star Lough Eske in Co Donegal and the Carlisle Bay in Antigua."Overall, the group is still generating sufficient cash surplus to cover its operating costs and the capital-interest repayment obligations to all of its banks," the directors said in the accounts."All of the hotels within the portfolio performed well during 2018 and are continuing to trade strongly in line with projections during 2019," they said. The group's cash rose to over €12.5m. The value of its tangible assets increased to €296.5m.Staff numbers increased to 821 and staff costs rose from €19.7m to €20.8m, and pay to directors rose to €396,000. It generated €35.1m from rental income; €31.7m from its hotels; and €29.4m from development and construction.

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