THE business originally founded by former Fermanagh billionaire Seán Quinn has grown its profits by 59 per cent to £9.4 million (€10.8m).
Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH), which is made up of divisions Quinn Building Products and Quinn Packaging, announced strong financial figures for 2017 yesterday and according to the firm, they are firmly on track to deliver the fourth successive year of growth in 2018.
The overview from 2017 has revealed a 7.4 per cent increase in revenue to £182.2m (€209m) on the back of volume growth on both sides of the Irish border and
stronger exports to the UK via the group’s new cement export hub at Warrenpoint.
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax Depreciation & Amortisation) in the period was almost one third higher at £20.8m (€23.9m), reflecting a combination of volume growth and ongoing investment in more efficient plant, equipment and processes.
Employment numbers increased to 800 in 2017, a cumulative increase of 23 per cent since 2014, while total investment last year was £6.6 m (€7.6m) , with further significant investment expected in 2018.
Chief executive officer of QIH, Liam McCaffrey praised the company's staff for the strong figures.
“2017 saw a continuation of QIH’s growth trajectory since its establishment in late 2014. Progress has been facilitated by ongoing investment and by our 800 staff who have again excelled by delivering on quality and service."
“Despite the significant macro-economic challenges posed by Brexit, we continue to invest, grow sales, innovate and drive margin growth. Encouragingly, volume growth trends from 2017 are continuing year to date in 2018 and at this point we are firmly on track to deliver our fourth successive year of strong earnings growth. Over the past three years QIH has invested €26m, including €7.6m in 2017. Post year end we are taking delivery of a further 33 new trucks as part of a €3m fleet upgrade, with further investment planned. This ongoing investment reflects QIH’s positive outlook for the business and our commitment to driving sustainable growth post Brexit.”
Chief financial officer, Dara O'Reilly added:
“QIH continues to benefit from strong operating leverage, with higher volumes driving margin growth and return on the investment expenditure of recent years. Despite a relatively weak sterling exchange rate during the period and a shortage of raw material for our insulation products, the performance for 2017 remained robust.
“Current trading for both our Building Products and Packaging businesses remains strong and based on a continuation of these trends we are targeting further growth for both divisions.”
QIH has operating units in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh; Ballyconnell, Co Cavan and Granard, Co Longford as well as a cement import facility in Rochester, Kent and a cement export facility in Warrenpoint, Co Down.
