*John Burke.
SPANISH POINT’s Armada Hotel enjoyed record revenues and profitability for owner John Burke.
Mount Everest conqueror John Burke saw his West Clare hotel business scale new heights last year as it enjoyed record revenues and profitability.
Mr Burke operates the Armada Hotel that overlooks Spanish Point beach in West Clare and new accounts for Armada Hotel Holdings Ltd show that operating profits increased by 18 percent to €2m in 2023.
This followed revenues rising by 13 percent from €11.69m to a record €13.23m.
The hotel is one of the West of Ireland’s most popular hotel venues for weddings and the directors state that the Armada continues to develop and grow new markets for trade, with significant growth in meetings and events.
A breakdown of revenues show that the hotel’s largest revenue generator in 2023 was food at €5m, followed by accommodation at €4.26m and bar sales increasing to €3m.
Mr Burke climbed to the top of Mount Everest in 2017 and is part of a business double act where his wife and former Fair City actor, Aoibhin Garrihy is continuing to expand her Beo wellness brand this year with the opening of a new cafe outlet in Ennis, The Well in May.
Commenting on the Armada’s 2023 performance, Mr Burke said, “Most- if not all of the profitability from 2023, was reinvested in to the business, with a solar project, room renovations, technology upgrades, but with a big emphasis on work spaces to support morale and employee retention, the main area here was an entire new kitchen”.
He said that without profit the company would be unable to make these critical investments.
He said that “independently owned, regional hotels, with a strong emphasis on food and beverage have to work harder than ever to compete with the growing suite of international brands growing market share in the country but we are up to the task and believe with the right energy and creativity, the right people and strategic reinvestment of profits, that the Armada should have a strong future”.
The directors’ report states that the business is now showing a stable and steady growth in casual dining and special events.
The profit for last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €929,517
The business recorded an operating profit of €2m and interest payments of €264,650 reduced profits to a pre-tax profit of €1.74m The business enjoyed a post-tax profit of €1.52m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €217,675.
The expanded hotel enterprise is one of the largest employers in West Clare and numbers employed last year increased from 195 to 215 as wages costs increased from €3.87m to €4.86m.
A detailed breakdown of the hotel’s costs show that the company’s energy bill last year declined from €326,571 to €305,717, while the hotel’s insurance bill increased from €111,758 to €151,360.
The amount paid out to ‘bands artists’ totalled €100,867 while subscriptions to IMRO/SKY totalled €14,599. The amount spent on donations/sponsorship increased three fold from €8,942 to €27,763.
Accumulated profits at the end of December last totalled €4.85m. The further capital investment in the business resulted in the book value of tangible assets increasing from €11.74m to €12.34m.
