Bathroom products manufacturer Qualceram, which more than quadrupled in size last year after buying British group Shires for €68 million (£54 million), has reported strong results for 2000.
The results from Qualceram include a three-month contribution from Shires. Operating profits rose to €5.3 million from €3.1 million, with Shires accounting for €1.7 million of the increase. At the pre-tax level, profits were marginally lower on €3.2 million, but this includes an exceptional charge of €2.1 million against redundancies at Shires and the write-off of the investment in Vitra Tiles.
Sales rose to €41.7 million from €15.9 million and will rise to around €115 million when Shires is included for a full year.
The cost of acquiring Shires meant Qualceram's interest bill last year was covered less than twice by operating profits. Chief executive Mr John O'Loughlin said analysts had forecast that interest cover would rise to 2.5 times in the current year, adding that the group's cash flow was strong.
Last year, Qualceram had operating cash flow of €11.8 million - a rise from €1.8 million, again reflecting the impact of the Shires acquisition.
He added that the group would also have an exceptional charge of about €1.3 million in the current year against the continuing rationalisation and integration of Shires. When the process is complete, employment at Shires will have fallen from 950 to 830.
Mr O'Loughlin said: "We are in a better position now than we have ever been and the group is even better positioned to achieve sustained growth in turnover and earnings."
He said the Shires acquisition was noteworthy as Qualceram had fought off rival bids from larger industry players. He added that all the targets the group had set following the Shires acquisition had been fully met.
