ONE of the north's biggest private sector employers has reported record turnover of almost £550 million, according to its latest accounts.
Craigavon-headquartered pharmaceutical giant, Almac Group has seen company revenues rise by £17m (3.2 per cent) to £548m for the year ending September 30.
Global staff numbers have also grown by 8 per cent from 4,407 to 4798 over the year as the firm continues on a path of global expansion.
The majority of these employees are housed at Almac's local base in Craigavon's Seagoe Industrial Estate.
In what has been hailed as a "strong year" by the company, Almac reported a fall of almost 20 per cent in pre-tax profits from £33m to £27m.
The slump in profits is largely attributed to the acquisition of Athlone-based, BioClin Laboratories during the year and further investment in Arran Chemical Company, purchased by Almac in 2015.
The group also undertook further development of its European Campus in Dundalk and carried out investment at its
existing facilities in the UK, US and Asia. This included the opening of a £20m cold store facility at its Co Armagh headquarters.
Additionally Almac has committed to invest over £1m in a partnership with Belfast interactive science centre W5
to enhance the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) knowledge and understanding among the next generation.
Almac Group CEO, Alan Armstrong said the company will continue to strive for growth in the business.
“Almac experienced yet another strong year in 2018 with our key financial and global employee metrics increasing," Mr Armstrong said.
"We made significant progress on our ambitious growth strategy with the acquisition of BioClin Laboratories and the continued investment in our existing global facilities, in addition to increased headcount. With 100 per cent of our profits reinvested into the business, we will continue to innovate and improve our wide range of services and products to ensure we provide the premium solutions our global client base relies on.”
Almac Group was founded in 2002 by the late Sir Allen McClay after the merger of his Galen business with Warner Chilcott. The business now operates17 facilities across the UK, Europe, America and Asia.
