UDG Healthcare's results show that the international healthcare services firm saw profit growth of 9% during its past financial year. 2014 was another year of progress for the group. Earnings per share was 8% ahead of the year before and its dividend increased by 6%.
UDG Healthcare's chief executive Liam FitzGerald said the company's decision to delist from the Dublin Stock Exchange and move its listing to London two years ago has been very successful for the company. While UDG is still very proud to be headquartered in Ireland, he says the group's shareholder group is international and its business is international. The move to the FTSE has seen the number of new shareholders in the company grow, which has led to greater liquidity in the share, which in turn has led to share price growth. The UDG CEO said that the company remains very committed to Ireland and has invested €40m in the business here in the last 18 months in building up its operations and developing its IT structure. It also employs a lot of people in the headoffice function to support the group's growing international profile.
Mr FitzGerald notes the company's US profits are up over 40% this year and says the company completed its biggest ever acquisition during the year - Knowledge Point360 which was bought in March for €106m. UDG has a strong balance sheet and is looking forward to strong organic growth next year, while additional acquisition activity will continue to add to the story of the group, the CEO added.
*** German people think that Irish people should have protested more when the euro zone crisis unfolded. According to a survey, conducted by Red C for Galway businessman and founder of health and beauty products company Lifes 2 Good, about 60% of Germans when asked said the Irish weren't vocal enough the year of the crash and bailout in 2008. That was 53% in the UK and 41% in Germany where the same thing was asked. Most also agreed that Irish people were too accepting of the crisis and its implications.
James Murphy, who founded Lifes2Good in the 1990s, said he commissioned the research to see how well thought of Ireland is abroad. 90% of Americans and British asked think we are hard working, and all three countries say we're "self starters and enterprising". Some other findings of the survey include the fact that nine out of ten people asked in the UK and Germany believe politicians and bankers should be held more accountable for the financial crisis here.
Mr Murphy, who spends about two thirds of his time abroad, said he carried out the survey because he wanted to find out what our biggest neighbours - the UK, the US and Germany - felt about Irish people. He said the results were amazingly good and people abroad agree that we have a good reputation as hard working, friendly, highly educated and entrepreneurial - in contrast to the negative comment here. We have an amazing ability to convince business leaders around the world that we are extremely capable, he adds.
The businessman says he was surprised by the level of positivity towards Ireland in the survey, adding that when he introduces himself as Irish when abroad it always brings out a smile in those he is talking to. He says that people like to do business with Ireland and they acknowledge that we have achieved so much since the boom and bust years. Pointing out that Ireland is set to have the fastest growing economy in the euro zone this year, he says that people have given us a lot of credit for coming out of the downturn.
***
MORNING BRIEFS - Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined £56m by uk regulators after a 2012 software issue left millions of customers unable to access accounts. RBS, NatWest, and Ulster Bank customers were affected in June 2012 after problems with a software upgrade. The Financial Conduct Authority fined RBS £42m, and the Prudential Regulation Authority fined the bank £14m. RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton said the problems "revealed unacceptable weaknesses in our systems". In 2012, the bank set aside £125m in compensation and costs because of the disruption. The fine comes on top of a £217m FCA penalty for RBS last week over foreign exchange rate rigging.
*** Four bids have been received for a portfolio of serviced business centres, development land and retail parks with a face value of €287m that are associated with Meath-based property investor Willie Smyth. The portfolio called Project Boyne is expected to sell for over €80m and includes the Fitzwilliam Business Centre group of serviced office facilities in Dublin, Navan, Drogheda and Prague. The Fitzwilliam business centres have dozens of domestic and international clients.
-
-
