Pre-tax profits at Galway firm Creganna Medical Devices fell by almost a third to €4.3 million last year, according to accounts just filed by the company.

Turnover at the business rose by 21 per cent to €31.5 million. The company said in the accounts that it paid €4 million for Screentech Medical, the Wicklow company it bought last November.

The acquisition added €511,000 in turnover to the company, according to the accounts. The beneficiaries of the deal were Screentech's managing director Derek Kelly and his family.

Creganna made an operating profit of €4.1 million in 2006, down from €4.6 million the previous year. The company paid dividends of €934,000 last year, up from €598,000 the previous year.

The company had retained reserves of €19.8 million and fixed assets of €21.4 million at the end of the year.

Employee numbers at the firm rose from 261 to 325 during the year with the company's wages and salaries rising from €9.3 million to €10.4 million.

Directors' salaries rose to €463,000 from €418,000 during the year. The company had cash of €1.4 million at the end of 2006, down from €5 million the previous year.

The company is planning to add to its products through internal development and acquisitions.

Director Ian Quinn, chairman and co-founder of Creganna, is a major shareholder in the firm.

George Aitken-Davies and Daniel Tully joined the board of Creganna in 2006 after the Galway firm sold a 29 per cent stake to AIG Altaris, a private equity unit of insurance giant, AIG.

Creganna's chief executive Helen Ryan is also a shareholder in the company. The company makes metal shafts and other components for devices used in minimally invasive surgery.