Irish IT recycling firm WiseTek sees sharp fall in profits

WiseTek, a Cork-based company that specialises in recycling and repurposing used hardware, recorded a 44 per cent decline in profits last year.

The company, which was established by Sean Sheehan in 2007, reported pretax profits of €267,731 for the 12 months ending October 31st, versus €482,679 a year earlier. Gross profits rose from €7.7 million to €8 million over the same period.

WiseTek specialises in "reverse logistics", the process by which redundant computer and electronic equipment is either sold or broken down into parts and valuable constituents recovered. Its clients include tech giants such as EMC and McAfee.

“The general macro environment continues to be very difficult in Ireland, in particular with GDP contraction throughout the year, declining asset values, high budget deficits and unemployment figures,” the company said. “As a result of this, together with restricted access to finance and lower consumer demand, a risk exists to the company through lower cash inflows.”

The Little-Island headquartered company, which employs almost 200 staff, also has operations in the US and Thailand. Its board includes Intel's former Irish boss Jim O'Hara, ex-EMC senior vice-president Dick Lehane and former Bord Gáis chief executive John Mullins,

Abridged accounts recently filed with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) show the company recorded a retained profit of €223,485 in 2015. A dividend was not paid to directors last year and the retained profit carried forward rose to €2.67 million.

Directors’ emoluments, including pension contributions, increased from €944,568 to €917,091 last year.

WiseTek was recently named one of the best managed companies in Ireland by Deloitte. Managing director Sean Sheehan is also a former EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist.