Tony O’Reilly’s Fitzwilton back in the black

Fitzwilton, the manufacturing group owned by Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris, returned to profitability last year, according to accounts that became available this week.

Group turnover for 2013 held relatively steady at €30.6 million, although sales including Fitzwilton’s minority share of associate companies fell by 12 per cent to €46.8 million. The group’s profit for the year was €222,000, compared to a loss of €692,000 in 2012.

Fitzwilton, which employs 174 staff but has declined significantly since its heyday in the 1980s and early 1990s, is one of Mr O'Reilly's few remaining unencumbered assets, he told a court earlier this year in the debt case taken against him by AIB. His 49 per cent share is likely to be eventually sold to go towards his creditors.

Its most significant asset is Rennicks, which manufactures motorway signage. Its other assets include Motor Traffic Solutions, which sells and rents portable digital road signs, and Wood & Wood, which sells retail signage.

Mr Goulandris resigned as a director of Fitzwilton in July this year.