Ireland’s largest bookseller, Eason & Son, lost €10.09 million in the year ending January 31 2010.

The company also experienced a fall in total turnover for all its businesses (including joint ventures and discontinued operations) from €375,355,000 to €313,636,000 or 16.4%.

However the company succeeded in reducing costs in both distribution and administration and had positive cash flow resulting in a €9.5 million cash balance for the year ending 31 January 2010.

At the operating level the company made a small profit of €786,000 and if the loss on discontinued operations is excluded, the firm had an operating profit of €2.3 million on continuing operations.

Although there were exceptional charges in 2009 of €1.65 million associated with the disposal of The British Bookshops Stationers plc, these were considerably lower than the €18.7 million in exceptional charges for 2008.

Among the other details that emerged from their year end accounts is the fact that the deficit of €12.8 million in the pension fund was eliminated by the 2009 rally in stock markets and the fund is now in a modest surplus position of €165,000.

The company also reduced the value of their property assets by €37 million which was the major factor in the value of the assest on the company’s balance sheet falling by 17% to just over €121 million.