Servier profits up by third to €73m

PRE-TAX profits at the main Irish unit of Servier, the French pharma giant, last year increased by 34pc to €73.44m.

New accounts just filed by Servier (Ireland) Industries Ltd show that pre-tax profits increased as revenues went up by €28m or 4pc from €694.8m to €722.8m in the 12 months to the end of September last year.

Numbers employed at the firm’s plant in Arklow, Co Wicklow, last year decreased from 387 to 365.

The principal activity of the group continues to be the manufacture of pharmaceutical products, primarily for the export market.

The firm paid a dividend of €45m to its parent in the year to the end of September 30 2017, and this followed a dividend payout of €50m in 2016.

The directors state: “During the year, sales increased from the previous year. This increase was driven by increased production overall on new and existing products.”

On the firm’s future developments, the directors state: “The group expects to retain its sales levels and further improve its financial performance in the coming year.”

The firm’s tax bill was €9m and the figures show that after the post-tax profits of €63m and the dividend pay-out are taken into account, the firm’s accumulated profits increased from €224m to €243m.

The firm’s total shareholder funds last year stood at €261m, which included €99m in cash.

The filings show that with the reduction in employee numbers, staff costs at the firm last year went down from €25.35m to €24.79m.