Underlying revenues at PM Group up 14% amid expansion

Underlying revenues at project management and delivery specialist PM Group jumped 14 per cent last year, underpinning a substantial 29 per cent increase in overall sales to €612 million amid a surge in construction volumes.

Operating profits at the Tallaght-anchored group, which manages capital investment projects on behalf of blue-chip multinationals like Pfizer, were stable year-on-year at €44 million.

PM Group chief executive, David Murphy, said that a substantial portion of its overall turnover are so-called pass-through revenues. “Particularly in the construction business, a lot of the time, certain clients ask us to procure equipment and trade contracts on their behalf and manage those trade contracts. So, when you see a big jump in revenue, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there was there was underlying revenue brought in.”

He said the 14 per cent increase in underlying revenues at the majority employee-owned group, which had 3,500 people globally last year, were “strong”, however, driven mostly by an increase in construction volumes but also pricing against the backdrop of rising construction costs globally.

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PM Group – which, outside of Ireland, has a major presence in Europe and Asia – has expanded its US footprint in recent years, opening its fourth office there in Philadelphia in 2021. In May, it also announced the acquisition of Cork-anchored Milestone Solutions, which provides IT and automation services to large multinational manufacturing companies

More than half (51 per cent) of the group’s activities were international in 2022 with the remaining 49 per cent based in Ireland.

PM Group chairman, Brendan Jennings, said that the business recruited a record number of graduates in 2022, 40 per cent of whom were women.

The company’s Irish operation boasted a client list in 2022 that included AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD, Pfizer, Sanofi and Eli Lilly.

In China, the Dublin-based group reported a “strong performance” across a number of industries, from food to life sciences, for clients including Nike, Pernod Ricard, Diageo and L’Oreal.

[ PM Group to acquire Cork-based automation specialist Milestone Solutions ]

Looking ahead, Mr Murphy said: “The first quarter of 2023 saw a lot of the momentum we had built during 2022 sustained, However, the external environment is undoubtedly more challenging. With issues such as higher interest rates and high inflation, we have seen more caution. However, many of our multinational clients continue to invest in major capital projects across key markets.”

Mr Murphy said cost pressures remain a factor, particularly on the labour side, but that the situation is more acute in some markets than others.