FEE INCOME AT BIG FOUR ACCOUNTANTS ALMOST €1 BILLION - Fee income at Ireland’s Big Four accountancy firms grew to almost € 1 billion in 2014 for the first time, new figures compiled by The Irish Times’ business database Top1000.ie show.
In total, the four firms generated €993.3 million in fees last year, up by 12.3% on the €884 million earned in 2013, illustrating the extent to which the firms are benefiting from the economic revival. In the period 2010-13 for example, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) grew its island of Ireland fee income by just 0.7%. Profitability among the Big Four is not known, as partnerships are not required to disclose their financial information. PwC, whose audit clients include DCC, Smurfit Kappa and Bank of Ireland, has retained its spot as the largest accountancy firm operating in Ireland, with fee income of €329 million for 2014, up by 9.3% on the previous year. Employment at the firm, which reports on an all-island basis, also advanced, up by 7.3% to 3,041. Ronan Murphy, senior partner at PwC, said that the increase in fees was “reflective of our recovering economy, continued investment by FDI and, more recently, greater confidence amongst the SME sector”. Looking ahead, he expects revenue growth to continue in line with the economic recovery. Second-placed KPMG, which also reports on an all-island basis, reported even stronger growth last year, with fee income of €300 million, up 11% on 2013. The firm added 152 jobs during the year to bring employment up to 2,000.
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MOVIDIUS TO LOOK AT RAISE IN 18 MONTHS - Irish mobile technology company Movidius, which recently received €38m in one of Europe's biggest venture capital funding rounds so far this year, could look at raising funds again in 18 months, highlighting the fast growing nature of the company. Movidius, set up by Sean Mitchell and David Moloney, won the funding on the back of its ground-breaking technology, which makes phone and camera sensors less expensive and more efficient to run, writes the Irish Independent. The company is already being tipped as a potential Irish 'unicorn' tech firm, meaning a startup that rises above $1 billion in value based on its funding. Chris Horn, the co-founder of former Irish software giant Iona Technologies, informally works with the technology investment team at Atlantic Bridge, which helped to close Movidius' recent funding round. He said that Movidius, which is currently designing semiconductor chips, may look at fundraising again towards the end of next year. Speaking to the Independent he said that companies in a funding arrangement such as Movidius' would usually take "about 18 months" before looking at taking on additional funding.
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UP TO 21,000 BIG DATA JOBS IN NEXT FOUR YEARS - Up to 21,000 jobs could be created in the data analytics sector in the next four years, reports the Irish Examiner. Speaking at a Chartered Global Management Accountant conference - held by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) - chair and EMC Ireland managing director Bob Savage said adopting a data analytics strategy is a key component of ensuring Irish firms’ continued success. "There are huge benefits in adopting data analytics, like granular insight into consumer behaviour and in-depth analysis of market trends. Having that additional information brings a real competitive edge to a business." The CIMA-held event, in partnership with Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) heard that the 21,000 potential jobs could be delivered across three specific sectors.
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FROM PCs TO BURGERS - SURGING DOLLAR TAKES BITE OUT OF US BLUE-CHIP EARNINGS - A surging dollar is expected to hit some of the largest US multinationals this week, as more than a fifth of S&P 500 companies report results for a quarter marked by a 9% jump in their domestic currency. Blue-chip behemoths such as IBM, General Motors, United Technologies, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s are among those set to release earnings by Friday. With the S&P up only 1.1% this year, investors are concerned that several companies could emulate General Electric and Philip Morris, which each said last week that the dollar reduced their revenues by nearly $1 billion in the first quarter, says the Financial Times. GE said currency swings hit profits by $120m, and Philip Morris reported a $585m hit to “operating companies income”. Fears of a new Greek crisis are resurfacing and US economic data has disappointed of late, but corporate earnings are likely to be a key driving force for US equities this year, said Russ Koesterich, global chief investment strategist at Blackrock. “For 2015, it will come down to earnings and whether companies can overcome a higher dollar,” he said. Earnings reports so far have validated recent concerns over falling energy prices and a rising dollar that have led to the largest downgrade of earnings estimates since the financial crisis.
