– PM Group achieved operating profits of €34.8m in 2020, an increase of 30% on 2019.
PM Group Revenues 2020
PM Group’s overall revenue, which includes pass-through revenue, increased to €398m in 2020, up 16%. Pass-through revenue is where the group carries procurement and contract costs on behalf of clients. Net assets increased to €111m up from €85m in 2019, which, combined with minimal debt, underpins the group’s ability to continue to invest in development and growth.
PM Group recruiting
PM Group is creating 400 new jobs this year across various disciplines, including architecture, engineering, construction, data analytics, project controls and Environmental. Of these, 200 positions will be based in Ireland. Recruitment for the new positions is already underway.
PM Group appointments
PM Group appointed a new chairperson, Brendan Jennings, who succeeds long-standing chairperson and director, Dan Flinter.
Before joining the board, Brendan Jennings was CEO of Deloitte Ireland. In April, the PM Group appointed a new CFO, Rosita Fennell, in succession to Larry Westman. Rosita Fennell held various financial positions within the group and was most recently company secretary. She has also joined the board.
Dave Murphy, Chief Executive, PM Group, said: “Despite the enormous challenges posed by the global pandemic, our clients have continued to invest in developing their facilities and capacity right around the world. Many of the sectors and projects with which we are currently engaged are actively dealing with the consequences of the pandemic.
“Therapeutics and vaccine manufacturing, food and beverage processing, medical devices and diagnostics as well as data centres are attracting significant investment to meet evolving market needs. Indeed, pharma is a powerhouse sector for us, with two-thirds of overall revenues generated in 2020 associated with the sector.
“The surge in investment has carried through to 2021, with international projects now accounting for more than 50% of Group activity for the first time in our history. We have set ourselves specific targets in our new five-year strategy in areas where we see strong growth potential in the years ahead. The development of a large-scale Electric Vehicle battery materials plant in Poland for Johnson Matthey, is a case in point.
“The growth of the business has created new opportunities for increasing employment, and we are pleased to be announcing 400 new jobs across a range of disciplines in Ireland and overseas. The attraction of working with experienced colleagues on exciting international projects for world-leading organisations, combined with the potential to become an owner of PM Group in time, is a strong magnet for talent.”
PM Group Operations 2020
The group continued to expand its target market into Europe and the US with major projects undertaken for MSD, Bayer, J&J, Johnson Matthey and Facebook.
The UK operation was up on the prior year, accounting for 9% of 2020 Group revenues. While pharma was strong, there were some delays experienced in other sectors given Covid-19 and Brexit uncertainties.
In mainland Europe, which accounted for 29% of revenues, the Group experienced growth in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland and Switzerland. In the Netherlands, a large animal health project was completed. The group’s growing Belgium unit is delivering a portfolio of pharma and datacentre projects. In Denmark, the group is involved with a multi-year data centre programme for a global leader in that space. Poland experienced a record year on the back of major projects for Beiersdorf and Johnson Matthey. Switzerland reported strong year-on-year growth on the back of projects for Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, J&J and Roche. PM Group has also recently opened a new operation in Frankfurt to support its work in the German market.
In the US, PM Group’s teams in Boston and San Francisco delivered further growth for key clients. Project highlights included Thermo Fisher’s cell and gene therapy facility and EMD Serono’s life science and research facility, both in Massachusetts and Genentech’s new iNeST facility in Portland, Oregon. To support the growth in the US, PM Group has recently set up a third operation in Philadelphia.
PM Group activity in Asia accounted for 9% of Group revenue in 2020. Strong performance in China related to the delivery of projects for MSD, AstraZeneca, Geneception, Pernod Ricard and Nike. The Singapore office delivered significant projects for PepsiCo, Roche, Novartis and Boston Scientific. The Group’s Bangalore operation, which now has more than 100 people, supports projects across all international business units as well as providing shared services.