Pre-tax profits at one of the largest private employers in Cork, Stryker Ireland last year increased by 30% to €58.6m.
In a year of expansion at Stryker Ireland Ltd, numbers employed at the medical device manufacturer last year increased by 275 from 1,381 to 1,656 to deal with increased production as revenues rose by 34% from €397.67m to €531.34m in 2022.
The directors state that during 2022 revenues and operating costs increased by 34% due to continued increase in demand.
The directors state that "during the year, lockdowns and travel restrictions pertaining to Covid-19 were lifted by the Government, which normalised the operations of the company and supported the continued growth of the business".
They state that this contributed to the increase in earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and pre-tax profit by 25% and 30% respectively.
The main activity of the company is the manufacture of medical and surgical instruments and orthopaedic implants for use in the healthcare industry and the provision of services to other group companies.
Operating profits last year increased by 33% from €47m to €62.52m and interest payments of €3.92m reduced profits to a pre-tax profit of €58.6m.
The directors state that the company continues to invest heavily in tangible assets.
The firm recorded post tax profits of €51.9m after paying corporation tax of €6.69m.
A unit of the US headquartered Stryker Corporation, the firm last year paid no dividend after paying a dividend of €400m in 2021.
Numbers employed are made up of 1,557 in production, 16 in administration and 83 in 'other' and staff costs last year increased from €85.43m to €104.1m.
The €104.1m in staff costs included share based payments of €233,000. Directors say last year totalled €191,000 that was made up of €169,000 in emoluments and €22,000 of gains in share options.
The profit for last year also takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €26.75m and Government grants received of €9.44m.
The profit also takes account of foreign exchange losses of €4.3m and R&D expenditure written off of €11.36m
The accounts disclose that the firm has received grants of €27.37m from the IDA compared to €11.75m at the end of 2021.
At the end of December last, shareholder funds totalled €326.36m that included accumulated profits of €99.3m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
