Irish antenna firm signals strong growth in profit and revenue

Enniscorthy-based Taoglas, which designs and makes high-tech antennae, posted strong rises in both turnover and operating profit last year, a period when it shipped 14.5 million antennae globally.

Latest accounts for Taoglas Group Holdings Ltd show that turnover rose by 29 per cent to €44.6 million in the year to the end of 2017. This led to a spike in costs, with its operating profit increasing by 7.7 per cent to just under €4.4 million.

The company’s tax charge roughly quadrupled during the year to €1.4 million, which had the effect of reducing its after-tax profit by 20 per cent to just under €3 million.

Taoglas has been trading since 2004, and has facilities in Dublin, Wexford, Taiwan, the US, Germany and China, employing more than 300 staff. It also has a production facility in Taiwan. It is led by directors Ronan Quinlan and Dermot Michael O'Shea.

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A spokesman for the company said it had achieved significant sales growth driven by the increasing requirements for connectivity across consumer, enterprise and transportation applications.

He said the group had invested heavily during the year in research and development (R&D), recruitment (100-plus staff were hired), and expansion with new facilities in Dublin and China and continued investment in its manufacturing plant in Taiwan.

Payroll costs rose to €10.4 million last year from €6.3 million in 2016. The accounts show that Taoglas spent €925,575 on patent applications in 2017, and just under €1.3 million on R&D.

The investment in Dublin was focused on next-generation technologies in 5G, the internet of things (IoT), and satellite navigation.

Enterprise Ireland recently approved a grant for the company to support its plans for R&D, which will support another 20-plus new jobs over the next 18 to 24 months in Dublin and Enniscorthy.

Taoglas has had a number of R&D projects under way with Irish companies in 2018, including with Synecco in Galway and AJ plastics in Clare. These will bring next-generation IoT products and production capabilities to the global export market in 2019.

In Enniscorthy, customers can build and order a full antenna assembly with customised cables, and connectors and guaranteed delivery worldwide within 48 hours from the facility. This initiative alone posted treble-digit revenue growth in 2017.

The company had net assets at the end of 2017 of €13.6 million, up from €10.8 million a year earlier.