Clonmel-headquartered engineering and construction group Kentz enjoyed a 36 per cent rise in pretax profits to $25.2 million (€19.6 million) in the first half of 2010, fuelled by its expanding range of services and global reach.
Kentz, which builds oil and gas plants and infrastructure in remote areas, reported a 32 per cent rise in first-half revenues to $434.3 million.
Furthermore, the global group's backlog of orders and contracts had strengthened to $1.6 billion at the end of June, from $1.1 billion a year earlier.
Kentz's ability to operate in northwest Australia and far-east Russia, combined with its increasingly diverse range of services, has driven this growth, chief executive Hugh O'Donnell said.
He described the results as a "solid performance" and said that the outlook remains positive for the onshore oil and gas sector across a number of regions.
The group, which is listed on London's Alternative Investment Market, scored a number of major project wins during the first half of the year in locations such as Australia, Papua New Guinea, North America and Africa.
Today Kentz announced it has secured a $36 million contract with Qatar Petroleum at Halul Island in Qatar, which is due to be completed in August 2012.
During the first half, Kentz also continued to develop its joint-venture project - Kentz Global Oil and Gas Process Systems - with Dubai-based company GPS Inc, which has enabled it to expand its activities, Mr O'Donnell said. He said Kentz remains on the look-out for value-added "bolt-on" acquisitions.
Kentz employs more than 10,000 people across 26 countries, and this week the group is running a recruitment campaign in Ireland.
A team from its Australian division is currently here trying to fill more than 100 construction-related positions. "The Irish are very welcome in Australia," Mr O'Donnell said.