MATERIALS processing giant Terex, one of the world's biggest names in crushing and screening machines, enjoyed a 2.1 per cent rise in turnover to £395 million from its Dungannon-based operations in 2016, according to its latest accounts.
Terex GB is the Northern Ireland-registered company formed in 1999 when home-grown manufacturer Powerscreen was sold to the NYSE-listed Terex Corporation in America.
For the full year, Terex Corporation reported net sales of $4.4 billion (£3.2 billion) – down 1.8 per cent from the previous year due to the sale of non-core businesses and what is said was "softness" in its mobile cranes business.
But it said the materials processing segment of the business, which takes in its Northern Ireland operations, continued to be a "strong contributor" to the overall results with net sales up 13.6 per cent for the full year while its order book backlog was up by 47 per cent.
“The fourth quarter marked an excellent finish to an important year for Terex with profitability increasing significantly,” its president and chief executive John L. Garrison said.
“We continued to simplify the company to enhance efficiency and make it easier for our customers to do business with us. We reduced administrative expenses while increasing investment in innovation, strategic sourcing, and commercial excellence.”
Materials processing president Kieran Hegarty added: “We enter 2018 with strength in many of the markets we serve. Materials processing is investing in innovation, and will continue to launch new products and services designed to improve our customers’ return on investment over the course of the year.”
Terex Corporation employs around 22,000 worldwide, but its regional division has close to 1,700 people including around 650 in Dungannon, 550 in Omagh and hundreds more between Ballymoney and Lurgan.
Of Terex GB's 2016 sales, two thirds were either in the UK (£118.6m) or the rest of the world (£166.6m), leaving Europe making up just £109.7m, which could potentially be hit in the aftermath of Brexit depending on what trade agreements are finalised in Brussels.
The company's pre-tax profits lifted by 20 per cent to £28.2m from £23.4m, though its bottom-line profit slipped back from £17.6m to £14.7m.
And although its payroll declined from 1,778 to 1,694 over the year, the wages bill rose from just over £60m to £62.4m.
In a strategic report filed with its accounts, Terex GB said: "There continues to be competitive pressures in a global manufacturing market for all of the company's products."
The report also reveals that during the trading year Terex paid £4.3m to purchase the trade and assets of Linz Ltd, a company incorporated in Austria.
