Mannok Holdings, formerly Quinn Industrial Holdings, has reported higher revenues but lower earnings for 2021 as it saw increased energy prices and raw material costs.
Mannok manufactures cement, concrete, quarry and aggregate products and insulation materials, as well as packaging products, mainly for the food industry.
It said its revenue for the year to the end of December rose by 16% from €233.2m to €269.9m on the back of good volume growth and customer demand.
But its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) fell to €25.8m from €31.1m in 2020.
It blamed the drop on the substantial cost absorption by the company, mainly from the middle of the year.
The company noted that key cost drivers included a 66% surge in energy prices, while its carbon credits increased from almost €33 per tonne at the beginning of the year to over €80 at the end of 2021.
It also saw higher raw material costs for its insulation business as a result of temporary global shortages.
But the company said it was seeing resilient demand, supported by stronger cost recovery. It also said that a levelling out of energy prices has driven stronger profitability since the start of 2022 after two challenging quarters.
Mannok also today published its sustainability roadmap, which sets out its commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 33% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.
The measures will require a more than €200m green investment to transform Mannok's production and distribution processes into one of the cleanest in its industry.
Mannok's Operations Director Kevin Lunney said the green goals the company has set are very ambitious, with a total of 36 detailed targets to achieve by 2030.
"Our plans will require significant innovation and technological development over the next number of years and will involve a very significant collaborative effort with all our people, our academic and business partners and the local community," Kevin Lunney said.
"We are confident that planned investment will make a significant contribution to the long-term sustainability of our sector and our region," he added.
Liam McCaffrey, the company's CEO, said that Mannok has undergone "a quiet but determined transformation" over recent years, growing and sustaining employment, driving profitability and investing for the future.
"2021 saw another strong performance despite unprecedented energy price hikes, a near tripling of the cost of carbon credits, as well as temporary global supply chain issues, most notably for our insulation business. Lean production and investment of over €78.5m over recent years have mitigated these short-term impacts and the outlook for 2022, based on trading to date and resilient demand, is positive," the CEO said.
He said that decarbonising the company's operations is a commercial, as well as an environmental, imperative.
"We have now developed ambitious plans to entirely decarbonise our fleet and to develop and utilise wind and solar energy as well as hydrogen and oxygen generation and deployment solutions, to power our manufacturing plants," Mr McCaffrey said.
"This will result in circular, self-sustaining manufacturing sites that will transform the production of cement, and construction products in particular, and underpin shareholder value," he added.
