More than €4 million gross profit at Shannon drill company

MINCON International Ltd, the Shannon-based company behind the drill piece used to make initial contact with the trapped Chilean miners earlier this year, recorded a gross profit of more than €4 million in 2009.

According to figures lodged with the Companies’ Office, Mincon’s gross profit for 2009 was €4,046,445, while its retained profit for the year was €2,550,002. The figures were down on 2008, when the company recorded a gross profit of €6,198,863 and a retained profit of €4,111,769.
In the director’s report accompanying the accounts, it was stated that the year had been very difficult. “The principal activity of the company continues to be the development and manufacture of rock-drilling equipment and accessories for export. The year just past was certainly challenging. The company was not immune to the international downturn. Business in Ireland was particularly hard hit with no sign of recovery apparent into 2010. While export markets were difficult, signs of recovery were there towards year-end and 2010 started more optimistically.
“During the financial year, the company continued to invest heavily in research and development and committed considerable resources into developing new markets and expanding existing ones. This should result in strong recovery in 2010,” the report stated.
The company sprang to prominence in October, after its role in reaching the Chilean miners. Speaking to The Clare Champion this week, director Joe Purcell said this year had been quite good, although it was uncertain how much the publicity had helped. “2010 has been a good year for us and it would be hard to quantify the impact [of the events in Chile] because there has been a pick-up in mining in general. We don’t know what next year will bring, a lot will depend on the Chinese economy,” he said.