Nothing to frown about: Westport Botox producer enjoys record sales of $4.88bn

New accounts filed by Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland UC show that the Westport based firm recorded a 14pc jump in pre-tax profits to $1.51bn as it benefited from a global surge in the demand for Botox produced at the plant.

Hollywood stars and celebrities, Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, Courteney Cox and Kim Kardashian have all admitted that they have used the wrinkle erasing drug, Botox in the past.

Allergan first set up on a greenfield site outside Westport 46 years ago and it has provided a bonanza to the Co Mayo town and the north west region.

The new accounts show that company overall revenues increased by 25pc or $1.1bn rising from $4.34bn to $5.44bn.

The Co Mayo plant is parent, Abbvie’s sole manufacturing facility for the production of Botox worldwide.

The accounts for Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland UC show that Botox sales increased by $1.25bn or 34pc rising from $3.63bn to $4.88bn as eye care pharmaceutical sales declined by 22pc from $716m to $561.39m.

Numbers employed increased by 127 from 1,210 to 1,337 in 2022 and the business’s contribution to the local economy is underlined with staff costs totalling $109.28m last year.

The company’s largest market is the US accounting for 68pc or $3.25bn in sales followed by Europe, Africa and the Middle East which account for 14pc of revenues at $742.4m. The accounts show that its revenues from the Asia Pacific region increased 13 fold from $43m to $567m while Latin America revenues increased from $5.96m to $154m.

The profit in 2022 takes account of combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation of $1.59bn.

The accounts - signed off on November 16th - show that the business recorded an operating profit in 2022 of $2.27 billion and net interest payments of $753m reduced the profits to $1.5bn.

The business recorded post tax profits of $1.32bn after incurring a corporation tax charge of $190.72m.

In 2022 staff numbers were made up of 656 in production, 349 in quality, four in administration and 328 under the heading of ‘indirect’.

Pay to directors totalled $1.39m that included emoluments of $1.33m and $57,000 in pension contributions.

The directors state that the company has major capital projects in progress to expand its production capability and to strategically position its manufacturing facility for the introduction of new products.

At the end of December 2022, the company’s shareholder funds totalled $8.2bn that included accumulated profits of $1bn.

Abbvie's $63bn purchase of the Allergan group was completed in 2020.