Irving Oil Whitegate Holdings Ltd operates the refinery and recorded pre-tax profits last year of $209.7m (€192.3m) following a pre-tax loss of $88.14m in 2021—a positive swing of $297.87m.

However, the group recorded a post-tax profit of $116.95m after incurring a corporation tax bill of $92.78m which equates to a 44% corporation tax rate for the year.

The largest component of the corporation tax charge at $67.07m concerns the EU energy windfall tax, the Temporary Solidarity Contribution that was introduced as an emergency intervention by the EU in October 2022 to address high energy prices as a result of the war in Ukraine with consumers being hit by much higher bills for gas and electricity.

The tax is calculated on 75% of a firm's taxable profits which are more than 20% above the baseline of taxable profits for the period 2018-21. The energy windfall tax applies for 2022 and 2023 and the Government here has estimated that the tax will raise in the range of €200m to €450m.

Revenues at the Canadian-owned Irving Oil Whitegate Holdings Ltd increased by 61.5% from $2.1bn to $3.39bn as the surge in oil prices resulted in purchases increasing by 52% rising from $2.008bn to $3.049bn.

The group returned to profit as the cost of goods sold increased by 50% rising from $2.119bn to $3.174bn. The group recorded a gross income of $223.34m following a gross loss of $14.46m in 2021.

Non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of $12.86m and a loss of $1.45m further reduced the group’s profits.

Recovery

Whitegate, which opened in 1959, can process up to 75,000 barrels of oil a day and plays a critical role in the country’s energy infrastructure, supplying 40% of the petroleum needs of the country. Irving Oil also operates the separate Tedcastle group of companies it acquired in 2019.

The directors state that “global markets have seen an economic recovery post-covid-19 with a more positive outlook for commodity prices and general markets and industry conditions”.

They state that the “demand for most transportation fuels has recovered and many in-person services have returned”. The directors believe that the group and the company are in a good position to take advantage of any good opportunities which may arise in the future.

Numbers employed at the company last year decreased by two to 228 and staff costs decreased from $35.5m to $30.88m including pay costs of $24.94m.

Key management personnel received $2.74m while directors shared $611,000 made up of $463,000 in pay, long-term incentive scheme payments of $84,000 and pension contributions of $64,000. 

A breakdown of revenues show that Ireland revenues increased by 57% from $1.38bn to $2.17bn while sales to ‘Other’ rose by 68% from $727.9m to $1.22bn. Last year, the firm’s accumulated profits increased from $15.76m to $132.7m while shareholder funds totalled $167.7m.