Profits more than triple at Cook Ireland to €20m

Profits at one of the largest employers in the midwest, medical device firm Cook Ireland, last year more than tripled to €20.16 million.

Accounts filed by the Limerick-based Cook Ireland Ltd show the company recorded the sharp increase in pre-tax profits after revenues increased marginally from €565 million to €572 million.

The directors said that the business had a target in 2018 to grow sales despite ongoing pressure on healthcare budgets in many countries.

Last year, the company said it focused its efforts to realign its organisational structure to better support customers.

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Numbers employed increased from 945 to 983, with staff costs increasing from €45 million to €47.4 million.

The company has a large customer base in western Europe and also exports to distributors in eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as supplying products to the North and South American and Asia Pacific markets.

Operating profits increased by 242 per cent from €5.49 million to €18.8 million and net interest receivable of €1.3 million increased profits to a pre-tax profit of €20.1 million.

A staff breakdown shows that 484 people were employed in administration, 286 in direct manufacturing, 105 in indirect manufacturing, 65 in engineering and 43 in management and sales representatives.

Directors’ pay last year decreased from €420,062 to €418,266 made up of €390,720 in emoluments and €27,546 in pension payments.

The profits take account of non-cash depreciation costs of €7.14 million and research and development (R&D) costs of €6.4 million.

The company last year paid dividends of €224,000 to Cook Netherlands BV and this followed a dividend payout of €462,000.

At the end of December last, the company had shareholder funds of €355.99 million and accumulated profits of €181.24 million. The cash pile last year was reduced from €121.45 million to €90.67million. Cost of sales last year totalled €414 million resulting in a gross profit of €158 million.