Irish health technology company Clanwilliam Group saw pretax profit fall as a rise in financing costs increased its expenses.
But revenue rose and operating profit was higher in the 12 months to the end of December 2023, as the company continued to grow its business. Revenue reached €96 million for the year, up €6 million from the previous 12-month period, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose €2 million to €33 million. Operating profit was €27 million, up from €24 million in 2022.
The company saw its finance costs rise over the period, from €11.1 million to €14.9 million. That contributed to a fall-off in pretax profit for the period, from €7.3 million to €6.5 million.
Dividends of €600,000 were paid to shareholders during the year, a significant fall from the €8 million backers shared in 2022, with the company attributing that to the decision to invest in research and development, growth initiatives and acquisitions as it seeks to develop the business.
Clanwilliam Group, which offers technology and services to a global customer base, has seen its business grow since the pandemic as the healthcare system has become increasingly digitised. It employs more than 950 people worldwide, down from more than 1,000 in the prior year, with administrative, sales, marketing and finance staff decreasing year on year.
However, there was a small rise in the number of development staff. The company spent €1.36 million last year on research and development, the accounts showed.
Clanwilliam started out developing and supplying practice-management software to Irish GPs and consultants, and now provides a range of electronic health technology, including software to nursing homes to manage aged care and medications, software to manage theatres and outpatient departments, speech recognition for clinical correspondence, GP management software and virtual clinics. It primarily operates in Ireland, the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
The company has recently been the subject of an investigation by the competition regulator in Ireland into suspected breaches of competition law. Opened in September, the investigation relates to the provision of Electronic Patient Record software, which helps healthcare providers manage patient consultations, store patient record and clinical information, manage appointments and manage prescriptions.
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