Pre-tax profits at the two companies operated in Ireland by the lingerie and erotica retail chain Ann Summers more than doubled in the past financial year to €586,000.
According to the company, the principal reason for the profits surge over the year to last June was an increase in sales of certain merchandise stimulated by the success of the Fifty Shades of Grey books and film.
The company, which operates shops in Cork and Limerick, as well as Dublin’s O’Connell St, is planning to open a second store in nearby Henry Street. It employs 31 people in Ireland.
Its flagship store in Dublin opened opposite the GPO almost 17 years ago and prompted widespread protests - its chief executive Jacqueline Gold was sent a bullet in the post.
The firm opened its first store in London in 1970. Ann Summers boasts 140 stores across the UK and Ireland and has an annual international turnover of £140m a year.
