Ireland’s top 1,000 companies: One hugely profitable technology company leads the rankings

Big technology companies continued to dominate the Top 1,000 rankings of companies published by The Irish Times on Thursday, with Apple once again leading the way in terms of both turnover and profits.

The iPhone maker recorded revenue of €222.8 billion in the year to September 24th, 2022, with profits of €69.5 billion. The company’s huge profitability is thought to be one of the key factors behind the surge in Irish corporation tax revenues in recent years.

In terms of turnover, Microsoft overtook Google to claim second spot, with turnover of €65.4 billion (up 39 per cent), and profits of just more than €3.5 billion for the year to the end of June 2022. Google was third with revenues of €64.5 billion (up 34 per cent) while Meta’s Irish operation recorded income of €52.3 billion.

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The biggest domestic company, in fifth place, was once again building materials giant CRH, with revenue of €30.6 billion and profits of €3.2 billion for the year to the end of December 2022. The company recently received shareholder approval to list its shares in New York, and intends to delist from the stock market in Dublin. However, it will retain its tax domicile and headquarters here.

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The top 10 was closed out by medical devices company Medtronic, which moved its global headquarters to Ireland in the past decade; Johnson Controls, which describes itself as a “world leader in smart buildings”; Irish-listed services group DCC; power management systems manufacturer Eaton Corporation; and tech giant Dell Ireland.

Among the financials, the Central Bank of Ireland continued to top the list with assets of €194 billion, which was down almost €10 billion on a year earlier. Among the retail banks here, Bank of Ireland was ahead of AIB in terms of both assets and profitability. Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland are both listed in this year’s ranking but with reduced balance sheets as they formalise their exits from the Irish market.

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In the retail sector, Musgrave, the Cork-based company that numbers SuperValu and Centra among its retail brands, retained top spot with revenues of €4.5 billion, up from €4.4 billion a year earlier. Dunnes Stores was next with estimated revenues of €4.1 billion (the company is unlimited and doesn’t file financial accounts) followed by British retailer Tesco with revenues of €3.1 billion.

In the energy sector, rising prices helped ESB, Bord Gáis Energy and SSE Airtricity to record sharp increases in their operating profit, although it will take some time for the full picture to emerge of the impact of surging prices post-Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

You will find the full list of the Top 1000 companies, in the ePaper from June 22nd here.