Irish technology company Taoglas saw its revenues and profits decline last year due to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on its customers. But the group expects a strong rebound this year with turnover to rise by more than 40 per cent.
Latest accounts for Taoglas Group Holdings Ltd also show that the US Small Business Administration (SBA) forgave a loan of $923,500 (€817,000) in January 2021 that had been granted to Taoglas USA under its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which had been launched in response to the pandemic.
Taoglas took out the loan in May of last year from HSBC, with a fixed annual interest rate of 1 per cent.
“Loans obtained under the PPP are eligible for full forgiveness provided the borrowers meet certain criteria. Taoglas USA met these criteria during the year ended 31st December, 2020, and full forgiveness of the loan was formally granted by the SBA on 26th January, 2021,” the accounts state.
Taoglas’s revenue totalled $65.3 million for 2020 compared with $67 million in 2019. This was due to the impact of Covid-19 on some customer factories, which were forced to close in the early months of the pandemic. Its pretax profit for 2020 was $2.8 million, down from $3.9 million a year earlier.
Dividend to shareholders
In spite of the reduced revenue and profits, Taoglas, which is best known for designing high-tech antennae and components, paid a dividend to shareholders of $3.3 million last year, up from $1.4 million in 2019.
The group also booked $6.3 million in research and development costs, up 5 per cent on the previous year. The company reports in dollars as the majority of its revenues come from north America.
The directors’ report states that, from the middle of 2020, growth returned to the business “delivering back-to-back record turnover quarters in the second half of the year”.
“This growth has continued into 2021 and the directors believe that the company is well positioned to continue to grow the scale and profitability of the group,” they added.
It is forecasting revenue of about $90 million for 2021, which would be a 41 per cent increase on 2020. Taoglas is also anticipating a significant year-on-year increase in profits.
Commenting on the results, Ronan Quinlan said: “The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation across a myriad of industries and Taoglas has been at the forefront of this through our advanced components and technologies businesses. Since mid-2020, we have seen increased operational and financial performance as we continue to invest in, research, develop and produce advanced technology solutions and services with a wide range of applications with global market leading enterprises. We look forward to the future with confidence.”
Founded in 2004 by Mr Quinlan and Dermot O’Shea, who remain as joint chief executives and the main shareholders, Taoglas describes itself as an “enabler of digital transformation through advanced technologies and components” .
The Dublin-based company is organised into two business units: advanced components (antenna, radio frequency and audio), and advanced technologies (end-to-end solutions for smart waste, and deep-tech engineering for customised solutions such as autonomous vehicles).
