PM Group reports strong operational and financial performance for 2023

PM Group achieved operating profit of €33.9 million in 2023.

• PM Group reported overall revenue, which includes pass-through revenue, of €566 million in 2023. Pass-through revenue is where the Group carries equipment and contract costs on behalf of clients

• Underlying professional services fee revenue was in line with 2022

• €33.9 million operating profit was achieved with significant strategic investment in international expansion and acquisition against a backdrop of increased costs and the impact of inflation

• Net assets increased to €164 million which, combined with minimal debt, underpins the Group’s capacity to support further investment and drive growth.

PM Group’s total workforce across Europe, North America and Asia is currently at 3,527 people, 1,363 of whom are employee shareholders in the business.

2023 represented the third year of PM Group’s 2025 Strategy, Delivering Our Future Together, which is focused on continued growth in core markets as well as geographical and sectoral expansion. In 2023, 44% of PM Group’s activity was international, with 56% of overall activity undertaken for multi-national clients in Ireland.

A key part of the strategy is to expand the range of integrated services PM Group can offer its clients. In this regard, the Company acquired automation firm, Milestone Solutions. Milestone specialises in providing automation engineers for clients to support the running and optimisation of production and maintenance systems.

The Company recently announced the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors. John Hampson has joined as Chief Digital & Transformation Officer, David Kennedy has been promoted to Chief Risk Officer and Anne Böcker has been appointed as non-executive director and Chairperson of the Audit Committee. 

Anthony O’Rourke, CEO of PM Group, commented on the publication of its financial results:

“I’m pleased to report that we delivered a resilient performance in 2023 despite significant economic and geo-political challenges in a number of our markets coinciding with the conclusion of key projects. The operational and financial performance of our business is testament to the fantastic efforts of our people right across the organisation.

“Our largest market, Ireland, performed strongly with robust multinational investments continuing into 2024, signalling a positive outlook for Irish FDI.

In Europe, Benelux saw strong growth on the back of sustained investments by our key clients. Our services in Germany expanded with the move to a new office in Frankfurt, whereas the Swiss market contracted in 2023. Poland also experienced difficulties with the effects of the Ukraine war and high inflation, leading to reduced investment. This was substantially offset, as our Poland operation redeployed its capacity to support our Irish offices. The UK continued to feel Brexit's impact, with continuing reduction in international investment in new, large-scale projects.

”2023 saw an upturn in large scale capital projects in the USA, particularly on the East Coast. We increased investment in the region expanding our Philadelphia office and opening our 5th USA office in North Carolina. The Research Triangle Region, North Carolina is a major hub for life sciences research, innovation and technology.

“In Asia, we delivered a number of large scale, high-profile projects across life sciences and food and beverage. We continue to develop our design capabilities in India, which is of great benefit to international projects across our markets.  

“PM Group provides employees with the opportunity to work on leading-edge projects for many of the world’s best-known companies, while also having the opportunity to become a shareholder in the company. We are unique amongst our peer companies, with over 1,363 employee shareholders benefiting from the success of our business. We look forward to adding more talented people to our team in 2024.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome John Hampson, David Kennedy, and Anne Böcker to the Board of PM Group. I extend my best wishes to them as they embark on their new roles. I have no doubt their collective expertise, leadership and vision will be of huge benefit to help guide PM Group into the future.”

PM Group is committed to the Science Based Target (SBTi) of Net Zero. The Company supports clients to accelerate decarbonisation and ensure new facilities meet sustainability targets. In 2023 a number of new projects achieved the highest levels of Green Building standards including, LEED Gold and Platinum certification. 

Chairperson, Brendan Jennings, said:

“Everyone working with PM Group across the world deserves great credit for our 2023 performance.  In particular, we are proud of our continued commitment to health, safety and wellbeing excellence.

“2023 marks the third year of the Delivering Our Future Together strategy and in financial terms, we are already ahead of the strategic plan at this stage. A key component of that strategy is ESG. We have been implementing ambitious plans to reduce our environmental impact and the impact of our clients, through the capital projects we design and deliver.

“We were pleased to welcome Anthony O’Rourke as Chief Executive Officer in December 2023. We are confident that his leadership will drive PM Group to new heights. We also extend our deepest gratitude to Dave Murphy for his years of dedicated service and invaluable contribution. Finally, we were delighted to see the recruitment of a large number of graduates in 2023. 45% of whom were female, which we see growing further in the years to come.”

Outlook 2024:

The Group began 2024 with a reasonably strong backlog of projects across most sectors, services and business units. Group performance in the first quarter to March 2024 has been satisfactory overall, despite a number of business units facing local market challenges in particular the cancellation of a design and construction project in Europe. 2024 will see a continued focus and investment spend to support our strategic growth targets as we build on the significant progress achieved to date.

The overall trading outlook for 2024 reflects market sentiment, which is strong in Ireland and remains cautious in some regions. In general, the 2024 outlook is that the business will remain steady overall supported by a strong pipeline in our major markets.

 

Pictured above: Anthony O'Rourke, CEO, Rosita Fennell, CFO and Brendan Jennings, Chairperson.