Revenues at the firm that provides catering facilities to ministers and TDs when the Dáil sits at the Convention Centre in Dublin last year plummeted by 78.37pc to €3.79m due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
he catering contract for the Convention Centre is one of a number that Fitzers Catering Ltd operates for large venues here.
However with the first Covid-19 lockdown, CEO of Fitzers Catering Barry Storey stated that “all of Fitzers Catering’s venues and contracts closed in March of 2020, so entering April we had zero business coming in”.
Revealing the extent of the Covid-19 impact on the business, Mr Storey confirmed that revenues last year plunged by €13.75m from €17.54m in 2019 to €3.79m last year.
Mr Storey revealed that the revenue decline between April and December was even more stark where Fitzers Catering recorded revenues of just €1.52m – a drop of 89.5pc on the €14.52m generated for the corresponding period for 2019.
In response to the first Covid-19 lockdown, Mr Storey said that by May/June of 2020, “we transitioned to selling food/catering boxes to go – Fitzers Catering Nurish – and The Green Grocer’s Daughter Hamper Sales”.
Both of these initiatives resulted in revenues of €332,000 in 2020.
Mr Storey said that having the Dail sit at the Convention Centre “has essentially helped keep a number of staff employed throughout the period which will be very beneficial when we do re open”.
The Covid-19 enforced closure of Fitzers’ catering operations last year followed pre-tax profits at the company almost doubling to €1.12m in 2019. New accounts show that Fitzers Catering recorded the soaring profits after revenues increased by 29pc from €13.28m to €17.54m in 2019. Mr Store y said the company was “extremely pleased” with the “strong” 2019 performance, particularly with the revenue generation at the Racecourse Division and the Convention Centre Dublin.
Numbers employed increased from 204 to 259 in 2019 as staff costs increased to €7.15m. Mr Storey stated that between temporary lay-offs and hour reductions, Fitzers Catering employee numbers have reduced by 50pc due to Covid-19. He said he hopes that all of Fitzers Catering venues will re open at some level in September.