Five Pierse directors paid €4.7m last year

THE five directors of Pierse Contracting, one of the largest building firms in the country, were paid €4.7 million last year.

Accounts just filed for Birmayne Limited, the holding company for the group, show the directors led by chairman Ged Pierse also banked €250,000 in dividends payments from the firm, bringing the total paid out to just under €5 million.

The directors of the company are listed as Mr Pierse; Norbert O’Reilly; Michael Flick; Ferghal O’Nolan; Brendan Sheridan and Martin Murphy. While directors’ pay rose in the year to the end of April 2004, the company saw a sharp dip in profits.

Pre-tax profits for the year fell from €11.8 million to €8.9m. Despite this decline, it remains in good financial health.

Turnover, which fell in 2003, picked up again last year, rising 10% €317 million.

The company’s long-term debt fell from €12 million to €1.7 million and it has shareholders’ funds of €44.7m.

A breakdown of turnover shows its civil engineering division sales fell from €54.4m to €43m, while its building contracting arm increased from €198m in 2003 to €235m.