SHANAHAN ENGINEERING, the Dublin company that manages the building, maintenance and operation of power and petrochemical plants, made a five-fold increase in profits to €6.1 million in its latest financial year, according to accounts just filed.

Turnover at the company almost doubled to €85.6 million from €43.6 million in the year to March 31st, 2007, due to an increased number of projects in Ireland and Britain. The strong performance brought the com-pany's retained profits from €4 million to €9.2 million at the end of the financial year.

Managing director Liam Shanahan said 80 per cent of the business was international and that the company was involved in power-generation projects in the Middle East and Far East. However, one of the firm's biggest contracts during its 2007 fiscal year was its work on the Viridian power plant at Huntstown in Co Dublin.

"There are a lot of energy infrastructure possibilities here, but the international area is a big game. We are going to be investing in renewable energy more and servicing more renewable energy projects," said Mr Shanahan, the Ernst & Young entrepreneur of the year in 2003.

The company made a gross profit of €9.8 million, a margin of 11.4 per cent, in 2007, up from €5.7 million a year earlier. The company's wages and salaries bill jumped to €29.8 million from €6.7 million, while directors' emoluments fell to €284,100 from €405,700. Cash reserves increased to €18.6 million from €120,000, while debtors rose to €22.5 million from €16.4 million. The company had no director pension costs during the year, compared to €2 million a year earlier.

Mr Shanahan began running the company 15 years ago. His father, also Liam, set up the firm in 1979.