PCH revenue increases by 72%

Cork-headquartered PCH International generated €510m ($710m) in revenue in 2011 — a 72% increase on the previous year.

Gross profit for the year was €50.8m, which is a 46.6% improvement on 2010, while net profit was €12.9m, which was a 26.7% jump on 2010 levels.

The company attributed the lower year-on-year rise in net profit compared with revenue to an increase in the number of employees and investment in technology. At the end of 2010, the company had a head count of 1,300, which has grown to a current level of 4,000.

PCH chief executive Liam Casey, in Ireland to attend the Dublin Web Summit, said the company had aggressively pursued new opportunities over the past few years, which resulted in the massive increase in revenue.

The firm lowered margins to capture greater market share, but he expected margins to normalise over the medium term.

PCH’s business model is to develop hi-end techn-ology products for its clients from its operational base in Shenzhen, China.

Most of its business comes from technology firms in Silicon Valley. PCH takes the product concept, oversees its manufacturing and development and delivers the product to the client.

During the past year it has launched new initiatives including the accelerator programme, which is aimed at partnering firms in the innovative hardware start-up sector. Most of the clients in the program come from the US MIT university campus.

Mr Casey said he is in talks with four Irish entrepreneurs “with possibly one or two announcements before the end of the year”.

In return for an equity stake in the hardware start-up, PCH offers its full services to get the product from concept stage to the market.

Over the past year, it has acquired the Dublin-headquartered TNS distribution business, which delivers electronic products and accessories throughout China.

Mr Casey said he is looking at a number of further bolt-on acquisitions.

The company raised $30m in funding over the past year, which is sufficient to meet future expansion needs, he added.

“We operate in a very fast-paced and dynamic industry and we are working with the world’s top brands and world’s best entre-preneurs. This means we have to continuously adapt to offer our customers the best possible services.

“PCH is revolutionising traditional supply chain models, and as a result we continue to dramatically shorten the time-to-market for the latest products on the market. Our continued focus during 2011 facilitated not only strong growth for PCH but also continued success for our customers.

“We recognise the opportunities to further scale the business and are investing heavily during 2012.”