AN IRISH firm, whose parent company is the Austrian retail conglomerate that owns Aldi, paid the parent company a dividend of €7.4 million for 2008, according to accounts filed at the Companies Registration Office.

The figure represents a drop of 31 per cent on the €10.7 million dividend in 2007.

Pat Ryan Finance Ltd has an address at Newbridge, Co Kildare. According to accounts filed for the year to December 31st, 2008, pretax profits fell from €8.2 million in 2007 to just over €2 million in 2008.

The company paid corporation tax on profits of €503,886 last year, down from €2,041,476 in 2007.

Aldi, which opened its first supermarket in Ireland in 1999, has more than 60 stores in Ireland and employs approximately 1,200 people here.

In May Aldi announced a €350 million expansion programme in Ireland, saying it planned to open 35 stores over the next three years.

Discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl have been gaining market share in recent times as consumers feel the effects of the recession.

However, international supermarket chains such as Tesco and Aldi have been criticised by consumer groups for not disclosing the specific financial details of their Irish operations, as distinct from their other international divisions.

A spokesperson for Aldi Ireland said yesterday the company had no comment to make on the accounts filed to the Companies Registration Office.