By Business & Finance 
Larry Westman, finance director and Dave Murphy, CEO, PM Group
A major rise in profits and a 500-strong recruitment drive saw PM Group hit the headlines in October.
Project management, engineering and architecture firm PM Group has enjoyed a busy October, with two key announcements. The group revealed operating profits of €10.0m for 2015; a 21% increase in 2014’s record results. This was achieved on the back of a dip in turnover to €297m, due to construction ‘pass-through’ revenue declining.
Trading rose by 3%, and the company declared a strong balance sheet of €42m in net assets. Furthermore, the group is now 100% owned by employees after the acquisition of a minority shareholding.
The group took the opportunity to announce a comprehensive recruitment drive off the back of its strategic plan: 500 graduates will be recruited over five years, across all engineering disciplines along with architecture, environmental, construction and project management. More then half of them will be sourced in Ireland, and recruitment has already begun.
Dave Murphy, chief executive of PM Group, led the announcement. “I’m pleased to report another year of progress for PM Group, with an increase in underlying revenue and operating profit, and I’m delighted to announce that we have embarked on a significant graduate recruitment drive to fuel future development.
“Last year, we rolled out a five year strategic plan, the key aim of which was to build our business in established core sectors and regions through improvements across our delivery platforms and business processes. The 2015 performance is testament to the endeavours of the 2,200 people working in PM Group across multiple offices and projects in Ireland, the UK, Europe, the US and Asia. PM Group is trading steadily in 2016 to date and we are targeting an operating profit out-turn for the year similar to that achieved in 2015,” said Murphy.
… it is essential that we continue to attract the top talent across all disciplines who are interested in working on leading edge projects for international clients here in Ireland, and across our overseas markets
OWNED BY EMPLOYEES
PM Group chairman Dan Flinter also revealed details of the group’s structure. “A particular highlight in 2015 was the acquisition, using group resources, of the 24.6% shareholding owned by AMEC Foster Wheeler. The outcome of this initiative means that PM Group is now 100% owned by our employees. This underpins a culture of enterprise and a constant drive towards professional excellence.
“As we pursue our business strategy, it is essential that we continue to attract the top talent across all disciplines who are interested in working on leading edge projects for international clients here in Ireland, and across our overseas markets. It is a mark of our ambition that we are recruiting 500 graduates,” Flinter said.
PM Group was founded in Ireland by engineers Jim Walsh and Brian Kearney in 1973, its growth coming from involvement with the Kinsale Head gas project and the expansion of the pharmaceutical industry. It opened its UK office in 1997, Poland the following year, and now has a presence in Singapore, California and Shanghai, to name but three.
About the CEO
Dave Murphy became CEO of PM Group in 2011, having previously served as managing director of its Western Europe operations since 2008.
A chartered chemical engineer, he is a Cork Institute of Technology graduate and has an MSc in executive leadership from the University of Ulster. Murphy joined PM Group in 1989, and was appointed to its group executive committee in 2001.
He has also served as its operations manager in Cork, and joined the group’s board in 2006.
