THE Dunnes Stores operation in the north recorded an £8 million pre-tax loss during 2020, new accounts show.
Despite a bulk-buying frenzy at supermarkets following the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, the family-owned Irish retailer saw its turnover fall 10 per cent to £101.8m for the year ending December 26 2020.
The reporting period starts just over three months after Dunnes cut its store portfolio in the north to 15 by closing its supermarket in the centre of Larne.
It was the seventh Northern Ireland outlet the retailer has closed in Northern Ireland since 2015. Dunnes also pulled out of England and Scotland during 2018.
The latest closure contributed to the drop in the supermarket chain’s northern workforce, which fell from 1,097 to 1,034 in 2020. That in turn saw the supermarket chain’s staff costs drop from £16.2m to £14.9m.
The new set of accounts from Dunnes Stores (Bangor) Ltd, published by Companies House, show the Irish retailer took a substantial hit arising from currency exchange during 2020, recording a £2.9m loss, double that of 2019.
A £2.3m loss was also recorded in respect of the group’s investment property, with another £941,000 loss arising from the disposal of property in 2020.
In a statement accompanying the accounts, the retailer’s directors said: “Dunnes Stores’ philosophy is summed up by better value. The board of directors believes that this philosophy underpins the success of the company in its first 75 years and it continues to guide us into the future.
“As a family company with generations of accumulated experience, we see things in the longer term and take our key business decisions accordingly.”
