Pre-tax profits at med-tech giant Stryker increased by 30% to €58.6m in 2022 following continued increases in demand, with the removal of pandemic restrictions “normalising operations” for the company.
The medical device manufacturer, which is one of the largest private-sector employers in Cork, saw both turnover and operating costs increase by 34% as a result of surging demand, with shareholder funds rising by 19% following heavy investment by Stryker in tangible assets.
Last year, Stryker announced that it would be creating 600 jobs in Cork, further growing the US Manufacturer’s presence in Ireland. In 2022, the number of staff employed by the company increased to 1,656 from 1,381 to address growth in production, with revenue rising to €531.3m.
Staff costs for 2022 also increased by just under 22%, rising from €85.4m to €104.1m in 2022. The average employee salary last year was €53,649.
Stryker began operations in Cork in 1998 with just 20 employees and one site, and has since expanded with now 6 sites in Cork, one in Limerick and one in Belfast. Its Cork hub is Stryker’s biggest innovation and manufacturing hub outside of our US headquarters in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The company makes implants used in joint replacements and trauma surgeries as well as other products for neurotechnology and spinal healthcare and claims that its products are used by around 100 million patients annually.
In 2023, Stryker was named “International Company of the Year’’ and “Overall Company of the Year’’ at the Cork Chamber awards, however, the company dominated headlines just a few months later following a suspected titanium explosion at Stryker’s Anngrove facility that ended up claiming the life of employee, John Murphy.
Two years before the incident, it emerged that six workers from across the company’s three East Cork sites – Tullagreen, Springhill and Anngrove – had been raising health and safety concerns with the HSA for the previous three years.
Earlier this month, the company beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit, benefiting from a recovery in procedure volumes. Its revenue rose 9.6% to $4.91bn (€4.49bn), compared with earlier estimates of $4.86bn (€4.44bn).