Profits at a little-known Ennis firm that was the largest Irish based provider of Covid-19 PPE to the HSE last year enjoyed a 20-fold increase in post tax profits to €2.86 million.
That is according to new accounts for EKO Integrated Services Ltd which show that at the end of last year, the company was sitting on accumulated profits of €3.23 million.
The profits of €2.86 million for 2020 follow profits of €139,827 for 2019.
The company’s cash fund increased from €551,185 to €615,489 last year.
In 2020, figures released by the HSE show that EKO Integrated Services Ltd received €102.36m for providing PPE and equipment to the HSE.
The monies received by secondary PPE supplier, EKO was more than three times than what was paid to the next Irish based company for PPE in 2020.
As EKO is a secondary supplier, the vast bulk of the monies paid by the HSE to EKO would be forwarded onto the producer of the PPE in China.
EKO Integrated Service is led by Clare man, Eugene Keane whose business background is building houses.
'Challenging' year
Currently, EKO - with offices in Ennis, Dublin and Beijing - is the overarching company for a diverse range of businesses in the fields of property and asset management, renewable energy, and product distribution.
The initial HSE order involved EKO organising 30 plane loads of PPE for the HSE and EKO dealt with three different manufacturers from China.
A spokeswoman for EKO Integrated Services said that 2020 was “productive, diverse and challenging”.
She stated: “It opened up further new opportunities in highly unforeseen circumstances and built increased confidence in the company’s ability to deliver large scale projects to high standards and tight deadlines.”
The spokeswoman stated that “EKO fulfilled its commitments to meet HSE orders placed in 2020 and delivered on all orders received from the HSE by February 2021”.
The accounts show that employee numbers at EKO last year increased from 12 to 17 and the spokeswoman said that the current number of people employed by the company is 40.
On the firm’s role in transporting PPE to Ireland, the spokeswoman said: “The company is gratified by its contribution in very urgent and demanding times.
She stated: “EKO is fully committed to best possible service delivery to all clients and is especially pleased that its teams at home and abroad could support the HSE in a proactive and constructive way at a time of national need.”
Pay to directors last year increased from €44,132 to €348,603.
