£2.5m loss for Gamestop Ireland

The Irish wing of retail chain GameStop recorded a pre-tax loss of €3 million (£2.5/$4 million) for the financial year ending January 2010, it has emerged.

After taxes, the company was down €4.3 million, reports the Irish Times).

For the prior year, GameStop Ireland had posted profits of €2.9 million from its 55 stores, although operating factors such as tax brought this down to a €1.6 million operating loss. In 2008, operating profit had been €4.5 million.

Execs claimed that "the key business risks and uncertainties affecting the group are considered to be related to product availability and supply and the life cycle status of game formats."

Nonetheless, "both the level of business and the year-end financial position were considered satisfactory in the light of the current economic downturn and the life cycle stage of the current generation of computer consoles."

Gamestop Ireland's directors also claimed that "the company plans to expand its product offering to the consumer beyond the exclusive sphere of gaming."

As the financial documents filed with Ireland's Companies Office only cover the 12 months to January 2010, they perhaps do not cover the effects of this expansion, or of the country's current economic crisis - which has required a bail-out by other EU member states.