Profits slump as Takeda’s Irish subsidiary records €384m in revenues

Takeda, which last year announced plans to invest €40 million in a new facility in Dublin, recorded a sharp fall in profits at its Irish unit in the 12 months to the end of March, due in part to the cancellation of its drug Vocinti.

Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company, which established operations in Ireland in 1997, employs more than 400 people at three sites here.

Last year, the firm announced plans to build a new high-containment production centre to manufacture its oncology product Ninlaro at its Grange Castle site in Clondalkin.

Takeda Ireland recorded pretax profits of just €5.2 million for the 12 months to the end of March 2017. This compares to profits of €102 million a year earlier.

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The decline in profits was partly a result of expenses related to R&D and manufacturing costs of Vocinti, a pharmaceutical preparation for treatment and prevention of oncological diseases and disorders. The product was cancelled during the clinical trial phase and did not progress to market. Expenses related to Vocinti totalled €23.1 million.

Administration expenses

Profits were also down due to a big rise in administration expenses linked to intra-company transactions. Such costs jumped from €151 million to €247 million last year, the latest accounts show.

Despite the slump in profits, turnover rose to €384.9 million from €357.5 million last year. A breakdown of revenues show €209 million derived from Japan, with a further €98 million from North America and €54 million coming from Europe (excluding Ireland and the UK). Irish revenues totalled just €2.4 million.

Staff costs were up slightly to €21.5 million as R&D expenditure climbed to €3.98 million.