Turnover at Ireland’s leading construction firms increased to nearly €7 billion last year, up by €720m on 2017, according to Construction magazine’s annual Top 50 CIF contractors listing.
The magazine’s figures show that the Top 50 Irish contractors reported a combined turnover of €6.72bn over the last 12 months, with €5.1bn coming in Ireland and €1.6bn from foreign contracts.
Editor Robbie Cousins said: “This is an impressive result, even more impressive when the lack of balanced regional development and the slow rate of recovery in housing is taken into consideration. The Top 50 listing gives a clear indication that construction is a dynamic sector, looking to the future with vigour and ambition to deliver complex construction programmes at home and overseas.”
The full list of 50 firms is available here, and the Top Ten were as follows:
| 1. John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Limited | €950,000,000 |
| 2. Mercury Engineering | €600,000,000 |
| 3. BAM Civil Ltd | €470,000,000 |
| 4. John Paul Construction Ltd | €360,000,000 |
| 5. Jones Engineering Group | €350,000,000 |
| 6. Bennett (Construction) Ltd | €325,000,000 |
| 7. JJ Rhatigan & Company | €245,000,000 |
| 8. Dornan Engineering Ltd | €218,400,916 |
| 9. Roadbridge | €213,997,269 |
| 10. Winthrop | €208,000,000 |
CIF director general Tom Parlon added: “Irish main and specialist contractors are absolutely critical to the Irish economy’s competitiveness. The largest corporations in the world locate in Ireland for many reasons. But, if our main and specialist contractors were not world-class they would never establish a footprint here. Ireland is working because this sector is working.
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“Without the success of Irish construction, we would not have had the ability to attract tech savvy and forward-thinking multinationals like LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, Eli Lilly to name but a few, and this is now recognised by the IDA and the wider government apparatus.”
Junior finance minister Patrick O’Donovan commented: “Skills shortages and the persistently low margins that are evident in certain sectors are challenges that are particular to the construction industry.
“Skills shortages, allied with the uncertain global trade situation, are likely to increase inflationary pressure in the short to medium term, whereas low margins are impacting relationships and payments in the extensive construction supply chain. If not addressed, the capacity for the industry to grow is limited.
“Government is committed to working with industry to manage these challenges. Indeed, it is imperative so that all citizens and businesses may enjoy the benefits of the substantial investment that will accompany the National Development Plan.
Photo (l-r): Chris Davies, Dominic Doheny and Paul Whitnell at the recent CIF Top 50 Contractors event in Dublin (Pic: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)
