The Quinn Group, one of Ireland's largest private companies, plans to concentrate almost exclusively on opportunities in Russia and eastern Europe as its turnover for 2006 comes to a new record of almost €1.6 billion.
The main Seán Quinn Group, which has a range of interests in glass, insurance, plastics and radiators, no longer believes there is value in property in Ireland or Britain. In what appears to be a change of direction, it is going to specifically focus on Russia and eastern Europe from 2007.
The company already has some involvement in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland and Russia, where it has hotels and business centres, but this activity is set to greatly increase from now on.
Retail is one area in which the company is likely to increase its presence in eastern Europe. Earlier this year it acquired 93 per cent of the share ownership of Univermag Ukraina, a substantial retail centre in central Kiev, Ukraine.
With turnover at the Seán Quinn Group rising from €1.2 billion to €1.6 billion, pre-tax profits have jumped to more than €400 million from €326 million in 2005, a rise of 22 per cent.
For the first time the financial performance of the various assets outside the direct structure of Quinn Group have been disclosed. This group of assets, which includes properties, wind farms and several pubs, will report profits of €100 million for 2006. No turnover figure is disclosed.
The main drivers of the profit at the Quinn Group was increased business for Quinn Direct, the insurance company, with its glass and plastic businesses also performing strongly.
Mr Quinn is the dominant figure in the Quinn Group, although the entire share capital is held by members of his immediate family. The group is believed to employ more than 4,600 employees.
The company generally does not pay out dividends and it has concentrated instead of reinvesting surpluses and building up its business. The levels of growth have been very fast by the standards of most Irish businesses.
Three years ago, the company was posting a turnover figure of €600 million. With the 2006 figure now set to reach almost €1.6 billion, this is revenue growth of 166 per cent in just three years.
While Mr Quinn is still believed to be interested in various commercial deals in Ireland and Britain, it is understood he has become sceptical of the valuations for businesses, particularly those with a property dimension in the UK and especially the Republic.
The company's main growth engine remains its insurance subsidiary Quinn Direct. In 2005, of its €1.2 million turnover, the insurance business provided €576 million in revenues, almost equal to the contribution for the remainder of the business.
The insurance business alone posted an operating profit of €108 million.
Mr Quinn and his company entered the insurance market back in 1996. While its first few years were difficult, the insurance industry has enjoyed much better times in recent years with the number of claims falling and road safety measures cutting down on the number of accidents.
The Quinn Group has often been mentioned as candidate for a public listing and its official position on this is it remains "under review", but such a step is not likely in the immediate future.
This week the Quinn Group was named company of the year by Business and Finance magazine.
