³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Northern Ireland pharmaceutical company Almac has reported a 20% increase in pre-tax profit to £97m in the year to the end of September.

Almac, which develops its own drugs, is one of Northern Ireland's largest employers.

It employs 7,000 people across its global operations, with an increase of more than 1,000 in the past 18 months.

The company, based in Craigavon, County Armagh, recorded a 14% rise in revenue from £735m in 2021 to £840m in 2022.

Almac group chairman and chief executive Alan Armstrong said: "Today's announcement is a welcome continuation of growth for Almac Group and I would like to thank all within the organisation for playing their part.

"We are committed to reinvesting all our profits in the business. This success will play a vital part in our continued growth, expansion, and increase in our employee numbers."

A major part of the company's business is manufacturing, distributing and conducting tests for big global firms.

As the race for vaccines and treatment for Covid-19 escalated during 2020, Almac said it worked with a variety of pharmaceutical, biotech and research institutions to support more than 140 separate research projects.

Those included providing clinical trials support to BioNTech as it tested its successful vaccine.

Aside from its operations in Northern Ireland, Almac also has major facilities in the Republic of Ireland, England and the US.