
Mercury Engineering aims for €3bn revenue within five years
Specialist builder Mercury aims to boost annual revenues by two-thirds to €3 billion by 2029, the Irish company says in a document setting out its plans for the next five years.
The news comes just weeks after the builder of data centres and pharmaceutical and microchip factories reported that it earned €114 million in profit last year.
Mercury's target for annual revenues of €3 billion from 2029 is 66 per cent more than the €1.8 billion it reported for last year.
The Dublin-headquartered business operates from 20 locations across Europe.
READ MORE
Its strategy document, titled Go Beyond, focuses on several European regions where Mercury believes there are opportunities for growth. These include the Nordics, where the company calculates it can grow turnover to €750 million in 2029 from €69 million last year.
In Germany, Mercury believes it can boost sales to €850 million from €580 million last year. The Irish company is building a new base in Schönebeck, which is about two hours southwest of Berlin. That will serve as a key centre for operations across Europe.
In Italy and Spain, Mercury is targeting turnover of €300 million in 2029 from €128 million in 2024.
Chief executive Eoin Vaughan said having a strong 'localised presence in mainland Europe' was a priority for the group as it prepared to expand.
'We will maintain our position as the European leader in data centre construction,' he says. 'The next five years will see enhanced growth in life sciences.'
Mr Vaughan said Mercury would continue working with multinational clients in the semiconductor business.
When it reported results this month, Mercury said data centre construction contributed €1.55 billion to sales last year, with semiconductors adding €154 million and life sciences €81 million.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Times
23 minutes ago
- Irish Times
HAP caps should be revised regularly to reflect rental market, Ombudsman says
Overly complex processes and the duplication of work by local authorities causing delays to housing assistance payment (HAP) applications, alongside the refusal of legitimate applications, were among the issues discovered by an Ombudsman investigation. Ombudsman Ger Deering said his office received numerous complaints from the public, and identified shortcomings through voluntary housing and homeless groups regarding the scheme before its investigation. Launched in 2014, the HAP payment to landlords was intended to cover the full cost of a household's rent. Due to significant increases in rent rates, however, two-thirds of HAP households were paying the difference between the HAP cap and the actual cost of rent in 2023. Some 53,742 households were in receipt of HAP at the end of 2024, meaning the same number of rentals have been removed from the private rental sector, the Ombudsman said, contributing to a sustained increase in the rate of rents. READ MORE The availability of rental properties coming under the HAP limits is declining as rents increase, prompting a recommendation from the Ombudsman that caps should be revised on a regular basis to reflect the rental market. [ More than 100 families in Dublin at risk of homelessness as tenant-in-situ applications paused Opens in new window ] Among the findings of its investigation into HAP's administration was a 'duplication of work' being done by local authorities resulting in potential delays. Although households approved for social housing support are immediately eligible for HAP, they must make separate applications, resulting in repetition. The report also highlighted the 'overly complex' requirement for local authorities to seek approval from the HAP shared services centre (SSC) before amendments to HAP records or applications for approval can be made. It noted that the SSC processed 5,821 amendments in one sample month during the investigation. The investigation also found further 'unnecessary delays' when it comes to validating applications and verifying landlords' proof of ownership. Delays increase the risk of inability to secure properties, it said. Separately, the Ombudsman found that some local authorities are refusing HAP applications despite all evidence suggesting a tenancy is legitimate, while others have approved HAP where it should not have been. Local authorities have 'broad discretion' when determining whether a tenancy is genuine, with decisions not always accounting for each case being different or nuanced. In particular, it said local authorities place 'undue weight on family relationships even where all other evidence suggests the tenancy is legitimate'. Separately, despite being legislatively considered socially housed, HAP tenants do not have access to the same benefits as their counterparts in standard social housing such as tailored arrears repayment plans. These inequities pose a risk of HAP tenants falling into a 'poverty trap,' it said. 'This unfairness is compounded by the fact that they do not have the security of tenure that their counterparts in other forms of social housing have,' the Ombudsman said.


RTÉ News
34 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
US trade deficit sharply narrows in April as Trump tariffs take hold
The US trade deficit more than halved in April, government data showed today, pulling back from a record on a plunge in imports as President Donald Trump's global tariffs kicked in. While the White House has framed the tariffs as a means to address perceived trade imbalances, it is unclear if the narrowing is sustainable as analysts believe businesses had merely paused further imports while waiting for countries to strike deals. The world's biggest economy logged a trade gap of $61.6 billion in the same month that Trump unveiled 10% levies on almost all trading partners. This was down by 55.5% from March, said the Commerce Department. In March, the overall US trade deficit widened to a new record of $138.3 billion as businesses sought to get ahead of Trump's promised duties. But imports slumped by 16.3% in April to $351 billion as the blanket tariffs on US allies and competitors alike kicked in. Apart from the 10% levy, Trump also announced -- before swiftly pausing -- higher rates on dozens of economies including the European Union and Japan. This halt, which allowed room for trade negotiations to take place, is due to expire in early July. Goods from China were the biggest target of Trump's during the month as the world's two biggest economies engaged in a tit-for-tat escalation that took both sides' levies on each other's products to three digits. This brought many shipments from China to a halt before the countries reached a temporary deal to de-escalate the situation. For now, all eyes are on a phone call between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, amid hopes that both leaders can help bring about a longer-lasting truce. But the state of a trade deal between both countries remains uncertain as the US President last week accused Beijing of violating the terms of their temporary agreement -- which China denied. Both April exports and imports involving China were the lowest since early 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Commerce Department. - 'Hit pause' - "The economy has essentially hit pause on discretionary imports and is now working off inventories as businesses and consumers delay spending and wait for clarity on tariffs," said Nationwide financial markets economist Oren Klachkin. He added in a statement that the sharp drop in goods imports, stronger goods exports and larger services surplus narrowed the total April trade gap by the most on record. Overall in April, US imports dropped by 16.3% to $351 billion on a retreat in goods shipments. In particular, imports of consumer goods fell by $33 billion, data showed, with pullbacks in pharmaceuticals and cell phones. US exports ticked up by 3% to $289.4 billion, helped by goods exports such as those of industrial supplies. But US exports of autos and parts dropped by $3.3 billion. Besides wide-ranging tariffs targeting different countries, businesses have also been contending with sector-specific duties that Trump has rolled out in recent months. In March and April, the president slapped tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum and automobiles and he has since doubled the duties on both metals this month. The overall US deficit was the smallest since 2023, according to government figures.


Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
National Treatment Purchase Fund seeks assurances from all hospitals that rules of waiting-list schemes being followed
The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) is seeking assurances from all hospitals that rules governing the operation of waiting-list initiatives that it funds are being followed. The move follows concerns raised about special out-patient clinics run on Saturdays in the children's hospital group, Children's Health Ireland (CHI). On Tuesday, the NTPF suspended funding to CHI pending inquiries into issues raised in an internal report, which was originally drawn up in 2021 but never published or circulated to senior figures elsewhere in the health service. The NTPF said on Tuesday: 'Following serious concerns raised over the 2021 CHI report, the NTPF immediately placed a temporary pause on all insourcing work with CHI. It has initiated a comprehensive review of all insourcing work with CHI to gather the necessary assurances regarding compliance, value for money and appropriate use of NTPF funding mechanisms.' READ MORE Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill suggested on Wednesday that this NTPF pause on funding would continue for a week or 10 days as it sought assurances on the operation of waiting list initiatives at the group. It is understood that the NTPF has now sought assurances from all hospitals. The current pause on funding, however, applies only to CHI. The NTPF will this year receive about €230 million from the exchequer to buy treatment in both the public and private systems for patients on waiting lists. The NTPF, as part of its work, pays for treatment for those waiting longest to be provided outside core working hours in public hospitals by staff working in their own time. Hospitals and staff are paid additional sums for taking part in such initiatives. This process is known as 'insourcing'. Insourcing programmes are targeted at the longest waiting public patients. The internal CHI report said there were 'significant concerns about prudent and beneficial management of NTPF funding and a lack of oversight in relation to access schemes that were not in keeping with the memorandum of understanding'. The report highlighted 179 children seen at five special outpatient clinics operated by a consultant at CHI over five Saturdays. The report questioned whether such clinics were needed and whether there was capacity elsewhere in the public system for the children in question to be seen. The consultant concerned received €35,800 in additional funding from the NTPF. In the Dáil on Thursday, Labour Justice spokesman Alan Kelly said CHI should be subsumed into the HSE. This is 'about the only outcome that is in any way possible' and 'it needs action quick'. He said: 'we need to have confidence in governance and the day-to-day running, because the culture in CHI seems to be absolutely atrocious.' He also called for the NTPF to be closed down in an orderly manner with a full audit of its operations and who benefited. 'I don't believe that the NTPF is or should be in place in a country where the healthcare system is working,' he said, adding 'we should be in a situation where those who need treatment the most are prioritised based on need. 'It shouldn't be a case of: we can't deal within the public system, so we'll actually pay off others to do the work.'