Profits rise by 20pc to hit €40.6m at Mercer

THE average pay at a consultancy firm that carried out a report on pay at Irish banks increased last year to over €88,000.

New accounts filed by Mercer Holdings Ltd show that the average pay for the 463 employed at the Dublin-based firm rose to €88,176.

The pay of €40.8m to staff doesn’t include pension costs of €3.9m or €6m in unspecified ‘other staff costs’ of €6m.

The increase in pay at the firm came as pre-tax profits increased by 20pc to €40.6m last year.

This followed revenues at the company increasing by 7pc from €152m to €162m in the 12 months to the end of December last.

Five directors acted for the firm during the year and directors’ pay totalled €1.5m.

In 2014, the then Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, confirmed that Mercer (Ireland) Ltd received €146,370 in relation to its review on the remuneration practices and frameworks at the financial institutions.

A breakdown of the numbers employed at the company show that Mercer has 66 employed in management and a total of 397 in administration and professional staff.

According to the directors’ report, the directors were “happy” with the performance of the group.

The directors state that the 7pc increase in revenues was driven by a demand for Mercer’s services.

The principal activity of the group consists of the provision of actuarial, human resources, investment consulting advice and related services.

The firm recorded a loss of €36m on its pension scheme last year.

Shareholder funds totalled €85.3m. The group’s cash last year increased to €125.6m.