Xsil Corporation, the holding company for the Xsil group of companies which sells laser technology to the semi-conductor industry, recorded a pretax profit of €8.5 million in 2006 on sales of €38.3 million.
After payments to "minority interests" of €5.7 million, retained profit for the year was €2.8 million.
Group sales recovered significantly in 2006 and were €10.4 million ahead on 2005. However, gross margin was 52 per cent compared to 60 per cent the previous year. The directors' report accompanying the accounts notes this was due to a change in the company's product mix and the weakness of the dollar.
It attributes the jump in revenues to the volatility of the semiconductor market, which it says is likely to continue during 2007.
Xsil was founded in 2000 by Peter Conlon. He previously founded MV Technology, a supplier to the electronics industry, which was sold to Agilent Technologies in March 2001 for €106.4 million. He is also a founder and director of eMuse, which has developed an advertising platform for digital television.
More recently he has backed Ammado Internet Services, a web games developer.
The accounts note that the biggest risks to Xsil's business are the rising costs of operating in Ireland and exposure to greater competition globally.
