Delivery firm DPD sees profits drop as Covid effects fade

An upsurge in online sales during the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in record revenues of €220.65m at Interlink Ireland Ltd trading as DPD Ireland in 2021 resulting in pre-tax profits of €27.15m.

However, as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted and people shopped less online, new accounts show that pre-tax profits at Interlink Ireland Ltd declined by €5m to €22.06m last year as revenues slumped by €38m or 17.3pc to €182.5m in the 12 months to the end of January 1st 2023.

The 17.3pc decrease in revenues in 2022 compares to a 40pc increase in revenues in 2021.

The directors state that the revenue decline for 2022 “is due to an overall decrease in online deliveries post the Covid pandemic”.

However, the firm’s 2022 revenues are up by 77pc on pre-Covid 2019 revenues of €102.8m.

On the 2022 performance, the directors state that they "are satisfied with the performance of the company despite the many people challenges that the Covid pandemic has brought to the business".

They state that “with the continuation of online business to consumer deliveries, the company is in a strong position to take advantage of changes in the marketplace for the coming years”.

The business was established in 1986 with 10 depots as Interlink Ireland and a central hub based in Athlone and today DPD Ireland operates 35 depots handling in excess of 20m parcels per year.

In 2000 the business became part of GeoPost, the parcels and express arm of French Poste, the French Post Office and the Irish business renamed itself DPD in 2008.

The company’s Athlone facility can handle up to 21,000 parcels an hour.

Numbers employed last year reduced by 84 or 15pc from 564 to 480 as staff costs reduced from €23.24m to €19.49m.

A breakdown of revenues shows that €158.07m of revenues were generated in Ireland with €24.42m UK based.

Pay to directors increased by €320,000 or 35pc rising from €897,000 to €1.21m made up of emoluments of €1.05m and pension contributions of €1.2m.

The company last year recorded a post tax profit of €18.94m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €3.12m.

The company’s balance sheet has strengthened throughout the pandemic and since. Shareholder funds on January 1st 2023 totalled €106m compared to a pre-pandemic shareholder funds of €52.96m at the end of 2019.

The firm had accumulated profits of €104.87m on January 1st last. The firm’s cash funds reduced from €34.03m to €6.78m