Next 200: Northern Ireland’s leading SMEs see sales grow by 11.4% to £12.5bn and pre-tax profitability increase by 8.2% to £676.8m
Skea Egg Farms Ltd, which is based in Dungannon, topped the list this year with turnover of £159.7m and pre-tax profits of £7.3m
Northern Ireland’s leading SMEs have seen sales rising by 11% alongside pre-tax profits up over 8%, the Ulster Business Next 200 can reveal.
For over 30 years the Ulster Business Top 100 and Next 200 have been providing a measure of the performance of Northern Ireland’s business community.
The Next 200 showcases Northern Ireland’s leading SMEs, ranked by turnover, and follows on from the Top 100 listing.
The performance of the Next 200 Northern Ireland companies shows growth across both, sales and pre-tax profit – with year-on-year sales for the companies showing over 11% growth and pre-tax profitability increasing by over 8%.
Sales have grown by 11.4% to £12.5bn from £11.3bn, and pre-tax profitability has grown by 8.2% to £676.8m from £625.6m.
John Mulgrew, editor of Ulster Business, said: “Northern Ireland’s economy is largely driven by our SMEs and micro businesses, and the latest Next 200 list is a snapshot of the strong performances being posted by many of our leading firms."
Skea Egg Farms Ltd, which is based in Dungannon, topped the list this year with turnover of £159.7m and pre-tax profits of £7.3m.
Analyst Jonathan Cushley, who compiled the list, explained: “There were exceptional performances throughout the listing but as a potential precursor to inclusion in the 2025 Ulster Business Top 100, nine companies have exceeded the minimum turnover of £99.3m needed for inclusion in the Top 100 in 2024.
“Firms often make the mistake of focusing just on sales, operating under the assumption that greater sales/revenue means greater profitability when, in fact, their profitability is just one of a number of the key metrics.”
The companies that have been identified as the Next 200 achieved profitability of £676.8m in their last financial years trading, up 8.2% from £625.6m.
This represents a pre-tax profit margin of 5.4%, slightly down on the prior year, which showed a margin of 5.6%. The figure of 5.4% however is higher than the margin of 3.7% posted by last year’s Top 100 companies.
Mr Cushley added: “Twenty-two of the 200 companies showed pre-tax losses during their latest financial figures, posting combined losses of £159.4m.”
The Ulster Business Next 200 listing incorporates the results of Northern Ireland based companies, either Northern Ireland registered or when a significant portion of their business is driven and transacted across the region.