Mercer Ireland almost doubles dividend to parent after profit rise

The Irish arm of human resources and employee benefits consulting giant Mercer paid close to €53 million in dividends to its parent last year after recording a rise in revenues and profits.

Newly filed accounts show it almost doubled the dividend awarded to its parent at year-end, having paid out €27.2 million a year earlier.

The increase in dividend came as the group recorded an 11 per cent rise in pretax profits last year to €61.9 million. This compares to revenues of €59.5 million in 2019.

Mercer Ireland, which is led by John Mercer, reported revenues of €251.9 million in 2020, up from €226.8 million in the prior year.

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Staff costs

Operating costs rose by €15 million over the year to €116.2 million as staff-related costs also increased from €65.2 million to €72.2 million.

The company employs 578 people, up from 540 a year earlier.

Mercer Ireland’s defined-contribution benefit plan recorded a €8.86 million pretax loss, as against a €783,000 loss in 2019.

Its parent, which employs more than 25,000 people globally, operates in over 130 countries. It has annualised revenues of about $17 billion and holds more than $15 trillion in assets under management.

Second quarter

Mercer International, which is listed on the Nasdaq, reported second-quarter earnings of $83.8 million in July, up from $40.5 million in the same three-month period a year earlier. Net income totalled $21.4 million or $0.32 per share compared to a net loss of $8.4 million or $0.13 per share for the second quarter of 2020.

In the first half of 2021, earnings increased by 70 per cent to $165.8 million from $97.5 million, with net income coming in at $27.3 million, or $0.41 per share, versus a loss of $11.8 million, or $0.18 per share, in the same period a year earlier.