McDonalds restaurants has reported that pretax profits at its Irish restaurants fell by 7 per cent last year as its turnover stayed flat for the year.

McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland made pretax profits of €14.6 million on turnover of €92.9 million in 2008, according to accounts filed at the Companies Office. It retained profits of €11.9 million for the year, in which the cost of sales rose. This compares to profits of €12.9 million the previous year.
The company cut back on staff costs during 2008, reducing the average number of employees from 1,315 in 2007 to 1,175 last year. Staff costs fell from €23.2 million to €21 million as a result.