Pretax profits at Co Meath-based chocolate maker Lir Chocolates fell by 85 per cent last year as the owners were unable to keep pace with rising global cocoa bean prices in 2024.
Accounts just filed for Lir Chocolates Ltd show that pretax profits declined from €1.58 million in 2023 to €236,714 last year.
The sharp drop in profits came as revenues increased by 19pc to €41.7 million as the company made efforts to pass on some of the price increases of cocoa beans to customers.
Globally, the price of cocoa prices peaked in April last year and briefly exceeded a record of $12,000 per tonne. By late 2024, prices were around $8,177 per tonne.
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In their report, the directors for Lir Chocolates lament that “the price increases (in the cocoa bean) were so rapid and frequent that they could not be passed on to our customers quickly enough resulting in a delay in implementing selling price increases”.
[ Lir Chocolates co-founder Connie Doody dies aged 76Opens in new window ]
The directors state that the 2024 performance “was severely impacted by sharp unprecedented increase in the cocoa bean price”, which is the main raw material in the production of chocolate.
“These prices were driven by several key factors – adverse weather conditions leading to reduced crop yields, rising production and transportation costs exacerbated by global inflation and fears of potential crop shortages in future seasons fuelling speculative price increases.”
The directors state that “despite ongoing challenging conditions, the company expects to return to profit levels closer to those seen in previous years with a full recovery of chocolate prices anticipated in 2025”.
The drop in profits would have been even greater but for Lir Chocolates recording a gain of €461,361 arising from “a supplier settlement claim”.
The company recorded operating profits of €368,485 and finance costs of €131,771.
Numbers employed at Lir Chocolates increased from 224 to 229, as staff costs increased by 8 per cent to €9.5 million.
The UK is the company’s biggest market accounting for 69 per cent or €28.83 million of its revenues while the Republic accounted for 8 per cent or €3.44m of its turnover.
Lir was created in Dublin in 1987 by Connie Doody and Mary White. They relinquished control in 2007 when it was sold to a UK company, while it is now owned by German group Zertus.
