Trailfinders bounces back from Covid as revenues increase five-fold to €103.26m

Gordon Deegan

The Irish arm of Trailfinders returned to profit this year as revenues increased more than five-fold to €103.26 million.

New accounts show Trailfinders Ireland Ltd recorded pre-tax profits of €6.34 million in the 12 months to the end of February as revenues rebounded from the impact of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

During the period, revenues at the travel firm increased by €83.8 million, or 431 per cent, from €19.44 million to €103.26 million.

The profit followed a pre-tax loss of €908,317 in the previous year, showing a positive swing of €7.25 million.

The directors said “2022/23 was a year of rapid recovery for the travel industry with business rebounding to surpass pre-pandemic levels after the lifting of many travel restrictions in 2022”.

The directors added they are satisfied with the results of the company for the year.

The revenues are also an increase on the business's revenues of £86.23 million (€100.4 million) in the last pre-pandemic year, the 12 months ending February 2020.

Separate accounts for Trailfinders’s UK business show the Irish arm made the stronger comeback this year, with UK revenues increasing by 359 per cent to £858.7 million.

Risks

The directors for the Irish unit stated the company’s operations are subject to numerous risks, such as currency movements, terrorism, civil disruption, industrial action, disease, adverse weather conditions and other natural phenomena.

They said the worldwide impact of Covid has largely diminished as governments have removed travel restrictions.

The directors said they consider the “cautious management of our cash reserves to be of paramount importance and this continues to be reflected in the balance sheet”.

The firm’s shareholder funds increased to €33.94 million, which included accumulated profits of €26.33 million, while cash funds increased from €5 million to €12.35 million.

They said this has allowed the company to manage all the aforementioned risks and weather any prolonged downturn in business.

The number of employees decreased from 85 to 78 during the 12 months, made up of 65 travel consultants and 13 people in management and administration. Staff costs increased by 17 per cent from €3.89 million to €4.55 million.

Directors’ pay increased from €301,384 to €322,148, made up of €307,051 in remuneration and €15,097 in pension contributions.

The firm recorded post-tax profits of €5.5 million after paying corporation tax of €825,968.