Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of engineering consultancy group RPS last year increased by 7% to €5.2m.
RPS is currently one of the firms working on Dublin’s Metrolink project and new accounts for RPS Group Ltd show the group’s revenues in the nine months to the end of October last totalled €61m.
This was a decrease of €10m on the €71m in revenues in the prior 12-month period.
The directors’ report says the directors are satisfied with the performance of the group in 2023 and the business “performed in line with expectations in 2023”.
The directors say the group’s key performance indicators( KPIs) include fees, net profit, margin on projects and utilisation and “during 2023 the company outperformed KPI targets”.
In January 2023, Tetra Tech wrapped up its acquisition of the global business RPS Group, which employs more than 5,000 employees in the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia Pacific, and North America.
The new accounts cover the shorter nine-month period to the end of October to align with its new owners.
In 2023, RPS opened a new regional base in the Kilkenny Enterprise Centre to add to its existing office locations in Dún Laoghaire, Cork, Galway and Sligo.
On the Metrolink project, RPS provides an Advance Works Design programme, that will facilitate the timely implementation of the advance works, preparing the site for the main tunnel and railway construction.
The new accounts show the RPS Group’s operating profits of €4.68m for the nine-months were a marginal increase on the operating profits of €4.63m for the 12 months of 2022.
However, interest payments received more than doubling from €215,062 to €524,453 was the main factor behind the high increase in pre-tax profits.
The group recorded post-tax profits of €4.62m after paying corporation tax of €582,621.
Numbers employed at the Irish business last year increased by 62 from 665 to 727, though staff costs decreased from €41.87m to €36.65m for the nine-month period.
Staff costs include salary and wages of €31.83m. Directors’ pay reduced from €744,782 to €502,169.
The group last year paid a zero dividend after paying a dividend of €2.09m in the prior year.
The profits last year take account of non-cash depreciation costs of €674,472 and non-cash amortisation costs of €353,116. The profits also take account of lease rental costs of €773,055.
At the end of October last, the group’s shareholder funds totalled €17.8m and cash funds increased from €788,657 to €2.11m.