June 2016: Datalex

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor and Aidan Brogan, Datalex chief executive officer

The announcement of 200 new jobs is just one sign of Dublin-based Datalex’s continued growth in the airline e-commerce sector.

Airline retail solutions software company Datalex is in the news again, having announced 200 new jobs to be filled over 18 months. Its newly revamped East Point Business Park offices are to the fore of the company’s plans, with half of the new roles to be based at the Dublin site. The remaining 100 positions are earmarked for Datalex’s Beijing, Atlanta and Manchester operations.

“This is an exciting time of growth for our business,” explained CEO Aidan Brogan. “In response to the significant global demand for our digital commerce platform, we are looking for the very best talent to deliver the next evolution of digital travel commerce. We are actively recruiting globally and throughout Ireland for highly skilled senior software developers, architects, analysts, project managers and many other roles.”

Datalex’s jobs announcement comes in the wake of recently announced deals: last year it delivered the high-profile redesign of Aer Lingus’s flagship website, and Datalex has also extended its nine-year Philippine Airlines partnership by a further five years. The ISE-listed company also works with Air China, Air Malta, Air Transat, Beibu Gulf Air, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Edelweiss, HP Enterprise Services, JetBlue Airways, SITA, STA Travel, Swiss International Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, West Air and WestJet. The company also recently announced a collaboration with IBM to use the latter’s Watson, Analytics and Cloud services.

Datalex’s jobs announcement was welcomed by minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor. “Datalex is a tremendous Irish success story, with many of the world’s major airlines using the software platform. The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, looks forward to continued engagement with Datalex to support their business development. I wish Aidan and his team every success with their future.”

“On behalf of the Irish Stock Exchange I would like to congratulate Datalex on their jobs announcement this morning,” said ISE chief executive Deirdre Somers. “Datalex is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange’s Main Securities Market and has been part of the ISEQ for over 15 years. Despite difficult global market conditions its market capitalisation has increased tenfold in the last five years. The company’s achievements and ambitious plans for growth reinforce the considerable strides that Irish companies are making in the digital commerce sector. We wish Aidan Brogan and the team at Datalex every success with their continued expansion.”

The news was also welcomed by Enterprise Ireland CEO Julie Sinnamon.

Datalex has released an interim management statement for the first four months of the year in which, among other news it reported progress on the delivery of a digital commerce platform for Swiss International Air Lines. “The first four months of 2016 have seen continued growth in the business, coupled with investment in scaling our product and market reach,” the company said. “Our financial position at today’s date is in line with expectations and we remain on track to deliver strong growth in year-end cash reserves.”

The company also announced its 2015 results, headlined by a 17% increase in platform revenue to US$22.8m, a 23% growth in adjusted EBITDA to US$10.4m and a 55% increase in profit after tax to US$4.2m: Datalex is growing its profits as well as its headcount.