Profits up 10% at Intel’s Shannon arm

Pre-tax profits at the Shannon, Co Clare-based R&D arm of chip giant Intel increased by 10% to $5.4m (€4m) in 2011, according to newly filed accounts for the company.

Researchers at Intel’s ‘Irish Design Centre’ are engaged in developing the most advanced silicon technology on the planet and new figures show that revenues at the firm increased by 9.5% to €59.3m in 2011.

The accounts also show that the numbers employed at the firm increased from 212 to 217, with 173 engaged in R&D.

Staff at the firm are well remunerated, with $97,998 being the average salary pay-out, including pension provision.

A spokeswoman for Intel Ireland said yesterday: “Intel Shannon continues to provide a valued contribution in the embedded marketplace and the team continues to deliver world-class products to our customers.

“The research and development teams in Shannon continue to be passionate about producing ground- breaking technologies that enrich every day,” she said.

Shannon Development’s annual report for 2011 revealed that the agency paid €3.5m in grant aid funding to Intel Shannon during that year, bringing to a total of €9.57m the grant aid paid to the firm by the agency.

The payments to the firm in 2011 accounted for over half of the grant payments made by Shannon Development to all firms in the Shannon Free Zone that year. The company’s operating profits increased by 10% in 2011, to $5.38m.

Its directors stated in the accounts that the firm “will continue to research and develop improvements in communication and networking technologies”.