THE Eakin Healthcare Group has reported a 15 per cent surge in turnover for the 2020-21 financial year after acquiring Coleraine device manufacturer Armstrong Medical.
The Co Down family-owned company, which specialises in ostomy and wound care products, branched into the critical care, perioperative and neonatal respiratory and anaesthesia market with the December 2020 acquisition.
The move took the group’s workforce from 367 to 552.
In the first set of accounts since the takeover, the Eakin Healthcare Group reported a turnover of £102.1 million for the year to March 31 2021, up from £88.8m in 2019-20.
Just over half of group turnover was generated within the UK, with £21.4m from Europe and £22.2m from the rest of the world.
Despite acquiring Armstrong Medical, the group largely held pre-tax profits to the same level as 2020, dipping by just two per cent to £22.3m.
According to a report accompanying the latest accounts, submitted to Companies House, the funds for the acquisition were sourced from a loan from Eakin Healthcare’s Isle of Man domiciled parent company, Dunrogan Limited, which is controlled by trustees of The Eakin family Trust.
In the report, Eakin’s directors said the 2020-21 performance was ahead of plan.
They anticipate the performance of recent years will continue over the medium despite increased competition and downward pressure on pricing in many of its markets.
Product development, innovation and increased automation will continue to be a major focus for the group, with the directors actively seeking to invest in business diversification.
Reflecting on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Eakin said the postponement of elective surgery did hit the number of new ostomy referrals during the reporting period.
But the directors said they had observed a resumption of surgical activity, with the business continuing to operate “satisfactorily”.
The healthcare group also said Brexit had created more regulatory documentation and impacted supply chains, but they said any adverse impacts had been manageable.
The reporting period also saw Eakin set up a new French subsidiary, Eakin France SAS.
The acquisition of Armstrong Medical saw the group’s staff costs rise from £16.3m to £22.3m last year.
Eakin Healthcare’s four directors also saw their combined pay rise by more than a third to £1.34m, with the highest paid director receiving remuneration of £361,583.
The latest accounts show the group’s tax bill rose to £4.5m last year, while dividends paid in the year to March 31 2021 amounted to £13.5m.
