Construction firm Ascon-Rohcon was a major beneficiary of the building boom last year, with pretax profits rising by 24 per cent to €20.24 million.
The company, which says it is the second-largest general contractor in the State, is owned by Dutch group Royal BAM. In business since 1958, its headquarters are at Kill, Co Kildare, and it has offices in Cork and Galway. It employs about 1,030 staff.
The positive performance last year was enough to marginally improve the remuneration paid last to its four directors, who received €5.42 million in respect of directors' services and other services. The directors - James Brendan Barrett, Bernard Murphy, Theo Cullinane and Adrian Franklin - received a total of €5.36 million in 2003.
A frequent winner of big public contracts, Ascon-Rohcon's best-known projects include the National Aquatic Centre at Abbottstown, west Dublin. That project was the subject of renewed controversy last summer when it was claimed that there was extensive leaking at the centre. Engineers acting for the company said there were no leaks.
Other major Ascon-Rohcon projects include the M50 motorway and the new Cork airport terminal. Recent projects also include the Dundalk western bypass, the Cork Court House refurbishment, Cork County Hall and the Kilbeggan-Kinnegad motorway.
The directors said in their report that trading was "satisfactory" during the year. "Plans for the future are to maintain market share in the group's core activities."
With turnover in the current year said to be in excess of €400 million, recently filed accounts for the holding company Ascon Contractors Ltd show that its sales grew to €371.23 million last year from €261.78 million in 2003.
Turnover embraced €199.7 million in sales from civil engineering and related activities, and €171.54 million from general building and property development. Such sums are net of VAT. Ascon Ltd is the civil engineering business and Rohcon Ltd is the building operation.
When €31.99 million in sales from Ascon-Rohcon's share of a joint venture were stripped out, its sales last year of €339.24 million were ahead of the previous year's sum of €246.45 million.
The company is a 33.3 per cent member of the Celtic Roads group consortium, along with National Toll Roads and European group Dragados.
With operating profits of €15.95 million up from €11.37 million, the performance last year saw Ascon-Rohcon's operating profit margin rise slightly to 4.7 per cent from 4.6 per cent.
The company paid out a dividend of €7.16 million, marginally less than the €7.59 million it paid out in 2003. A retained profit of €10.18 million brought the company's reserves at the start of 2005 to €58.68 million.
Ascon Contractors had cash of €93.09 million in the bank at the end of 2004, up from €66.89 million in 2003. It paid out €2.98 million in tax last year, up from €2.04 million in 2003.
