Builders boost sales to €10.5bn despite lockdowns

The Republic’s biggest builders boosted turnover to more than €10.5 billion last year despite Government Covid-19 lockdowns, new figures show.

Turnover at the top 50 main and specialist contractors hit €10.54 billion last year, 8.26 per cent more than the €9.74 billion earned in 2019, according to the Linesight league table, published in Irish Building magazine.

John Sisk & Son, owned by holding company Sicon Ltd, kept top position with a turnover of more than €1.5 billion, up from €1.39 billion in 2019.

Mercury Engineering held its rank as the leading specialist contractor, and number two overall, with sales of €1.04 billion in 2020, from €900 million the previous year.

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Colin Walsh, media director for Irish Building magazine, said the numbers showed construction continued to deliver through difficult periods.

“An increase in turnover of 8.26 per cent in 2020 shows the trajectory the industry was on and indicates what could have been achieved if the industry had been allowed to remain open,” he added.

The Government shut building sites between the end of March and late May last year as part of Covid-19 restrictions. Most other European states allowed construction to continue.

Mr Walsh noted recent reports have predicted that more than 200,000 new homes would be needed in the Republic over the next three years.