Hi °C | Lo °C Billionaire Sean Quinn’s company recorded a healthy profit in 2008 despite a challenging year for its insurance business.
According to accounts filed with Companies House, the Fermanagh-based Quinn Group (NI) Ltd posted pre-tax profits of €83m for the year ending December 31, 2008, well ahead of 2007’s €425m pre-tax loss. That was largely because the €126m of loan losses recorded last year was well below the €692m the company shouldered in 2007.
The 2008 profit also came after investment losses of €152m and a decline in operating profits at Quinn Insurance, historically one of the group’s most successful businesses and the second largest general insurance in the Republic.
In the report the company pointed out that the trading profitability was therefore more reassuring on a continuing basis. Without these deductions pre-tax profits would have been €361m.
The company comprises a diverse range of businesses, ranging from cement, glass, plastics and packaging to hotels, radiators and financial services. Quinn Group said in its most recent trading review that while economic conditions remain very difficult, particularly in the construction and manufacturing sectors, it is continuing to outperform its competitors in most areas.
