Luxury Italian brand Bvlgari has relocated its perfume department's customer services team to Dublin.

"This new business activity will result in a new source of revenue and related costs for the company," the retailer revealed in a post-balance sheet note in its most recent accounts.

The retailer paid an interim dividend of €18.5m to its parent company in 2008 after recording a pre-tax profit of more than €22.5m on turnover of nearly €185m. More than €134m of turnover came from inter-company sales with more than €50m coming from third-party and franchising sales. Japan and the Far East accounted for €90m of turnover.

The company is based in an office building developed by Liam Carroll in Dublin's north docks.

A note in the accounts says Bvlgari has "commitments under operating leases" of more than €7.8m over the term of the lease. The Irish company is principally involved in the sale, import and export of jewellery, watches, fashion accessories, perfumes and cosmetics.

It also "provides intra-group finance, advice and services to businesses and companies".

It paid corporation tax of more than €2.8m in 2008 and its principal bankers include AIB.

Separately Bvlgari's Irish-based reinsurance company made a pre-tax profit of more than €1.26m in 2008 and paid a dividend of €2m to its immediate parent, which is based in the Netherlands.

Last month Bvlgari, whose face is currently actress Julianne Moore, reported that sales in directly-owned stores rose more than 12% at comparable exchange rates in the fourth quarter of last year.

Overall sales however fell 2.7% to €297m in the period. Sales grew in Europe and in Asia, excluding Japan where turnover fell sharply.