New accounts for Camile Thai Kitchen Ltd have revealed that profits at the Camile Thai restaurant chain decreased by 59% to €133,397 last year.
However, the company's revenues increased by a third.
The decrease in profits was due to expansion costs.
Camile Thai now operates 36 outlets across Ireland and the UK.
The company's profit figure for last year takes account of €243,694 in non-cash depreciation costs.
Additionally, Camile Thai shareholder funds amounted to €2.09 million including €224,687 in cash at the end of last year.
The Irish Independent quotes Camile Thai founder Brody Sweeney as saying, "Market leadership was consolidated in Ireland. Revenue grew by 33%, but profit trailed as a large number of new restaurants in both Ireland and UK took time to get into profitability.
"Eleven new restaurants opened in the second half of the year, with startup costs eating into profitability."
COVID-19 Impact And Looking Ahead
The accounts state that Camile Thai's trading has been "quite positive" since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the company's directors are forecasting a net profit for this year.
Speaking about the pandemic impact on Camile Thai's business, Sweeney said, "We have been lucky and fortunate to have our locations primarily located in residential suburbs, and to have 70% of the business off premises before the restrictions started."
Talking about how the company is performing during the current COVID-19 related lockdown, Sweeney said, "We are holding up well."
Looking ahead, Sweeney stated that Camile Thai has "a significant number of new restaurants in the pipeline for this year and into 2021".
© 2020 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
