Industrial production in pharmaceutical and IT sectors gains ground – The Irish Times

Output in the highly globalised “modern sector” of the Irish economy recorded some growth in the three months from March to May, rising by almost 6 per cent year-on-year.

The sector, which includes major pharmaceutical and IT companies in the state, had earlier reported a 21 per cent year-on-year decline in production in the December-February period.

Data from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) showed an overall decline in manufacturing output of 9.6% compared with the previous three-month period. Turnover also fell compared with the December-February period, falling by almost 4%.

Statistician Colin Cotter said the fall was due to differences in performance between the modern and traditional sectors. While the modern sector gained modestly, the traditional manufacturing sector continued to grow year-on-year, gaining 11.3 per cent in the three-month period.

Year-on-year, production rose by almost 7% between March and May, while industrial production rose month-on-month, reaching 5.8% in May 2024.

“CSO recommends analysts take a longer-term view of the indices due to the volatility that can occur in individual months of the quarter,” Cotter wrote in a note.

Industrial production data is also more volatile here due to the large share of contract manufacturing, in which a company outsources production to an external entity.

Despite concerns about corporate tax revenues, May data showed strong year-on-year growth. Business tax revenues, which have been growing almost continuously since 2014, generated €3.6 billion in May, up 30% year-on-year. This continued into June, when they generated almost €6 billion, up 38% year-on-year.