Mannok reports turnover of almost €312M in 2023
Earnings for the period were up 74% to almost €45M
Mannok Holdings has said sales price deflation is largely responsible for it reporting a slightly lower turnover for the year to the end of December 2023.
Turnover was down 1.8% on the previous year to €311.9M, largely driven by sales price deflation for insulation and plastic packaging products.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) in the period were up 74% to €44.9m.
"Having supported our customers through several years of oppressive inflationary pressures, Mannok was pleased to see margin recovery during 2023 as cost absorption pressures eased somewhat," said Liam McCaffrey, Chief Executive Officer, who is set to step down as CEO later this year.
Formerly part of the Quinn Group, Mannok has operations straddling both sides of the border. The company comprises two key divisions - Building Products and Packaging. Its key activities are the manufacture of cement, concrete, quarry and aggregate products and insulation materials, as well as the manufacturing of packaging products, mainly for the food industry, focussed in Irish and British markets.
"Investments in excess of €100m in the business over the past nine years has seen a doubling of turnover and a seven-fold increase in EBITDA, while also increasing employment by more than 150 employees in the same period," continued Mr McCaffrey.
Alongside ongoing investment, Mannok reduced its debt in the period by 30 per cent to €66.8m.
The company is also investment considerably in decarbonisation measures with a commitment to achieve its net-zero carbon goal by 2050.
The final commissioning of the Fuel Flex installation at the cement plant, designed to reduce coal consumption, was completed in March.
In Northern Ireland, Mannok has also now completed the tender process for phase one of its Mannok Energy Valley project, which will start with the production of green hydrogen for use in its transport fleet, progressively replacing diesel.
Chief Financial Officer, Dara O'Reilly, who is set to succeed Mr McCaffrey as CEO, said the weather has presented some challenges for production.
“Trading post year end has been challenging to date as a result of the extremely inclement weather. However, the general outlook is positive, with the underlying market on the island remaining relatively robust and signs of recovery in the GB market starting to emerge.“
Mannok has also confirmed that Mr McCaffrey (61) will retire as CEO on June 30, while remaining involved in the firm as a non-executive director. He will be succeeded by Mr O’Reilly (51), currently Mannok’s CFO. Brenda Rennick (47), Mannok’s Finance Director, is set to replace Dara as Chief Financial Officer.
Headquartered in Derrylin, Mannok had approximately 780 locally based staff in 2023. The company was pleased to win an array of awards including being named for the third successive year as one of Ireland’s Best Managed Companies at the Deloitte Awards and receiving the Operational Excellence Award at the inaugural Manufacturing Excellence Awards in Dublin.