Pretax profits at the private ambulance service owned by mortgage campaigner David Hall last year increased 37-fold to €662,479.
Accounts filed by Mr Hall’s Lifeline Ambulance Service Ltd show that it recorded pretax profits of €662,479 in the 12 months to the end of June 30th last. In the previous year it had pretax profits of €17,831.
The largest contributor to the increase in profits was directors’ pay almost halving from €830,197 to €443,197 last year.
The directors are listed as David Hall, Susan Wiseman and former director general of the HSE Paul O’Brien.
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A note attached to the accounts shows that, during the year, Life Line Ambulance received services from Mr O’Brien’s Global Leadership and Governance Solutions Ltd and paid Mr O’Brien’s company €36,000.
The firm recorded the profit increase after revenues rose 28.5 per cent from €6.7 million to €8.6 million last year.
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Commenting on the performance, Mr Hall said: “The company has performed well over the year up to June 2022 and continues to perform strongly. This is due to an increasing need for quality private ambulance services to assist the health service.
“There has been an increase in the need for my company’s services, and I feel we deliver the best service in the country.”
He said he had “the best staff”, and, “to recognise my staff’s efforts, I increased operational staff pay in January 2023 in line with HSE rates of pay, which meant on average each operational EMT/paramedic staff had their pay rise by €4,250 per year”.
Mr Hall said Mr O’Brien assisted with management development and strategic and governance oversight.
The business employs 172 staff and operates 50 front-line ambulances and eight organ transplant vehicles, with 10 ambulances being built currently and a further 10 ambulances ordered for later this year.
Mr Hall said: “The business is performing well and I expect turnover and profit to increase but the year is not over yet.” He confirmed that the HSE was the firm’s largest client and “they are currently in the process of tendering for private ambulance services”.
At the end of June last, the company’s shareholder funds totalled €1.53 million. The company’s cash funds declined from €650,126 to €441,703.
