Published this weekend, the 16th annual Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 league table ranks the UK’s private companies with the fastest-growing profits over the last three years.

The three companies headquartered in Northern Ireland (compared to no companies last year) have made a strong contribution to the local economy, together achieving combined profits of £23m and employing almost 1,200 staff, having added 260 jobs in the last three years.

The region’s highest-ranked company at No 44 is Randox Laboratories, which appears on the league table for the first time. Led by founder and managing director Peter Fitzgerald CBE, 64, the company designs and manufactures diagnostic instruments and tests used in medical laboratories. It also supplies antibodies and proteins to the healthcare industry. It grew profits an average of 65% a year to £16.3m in 2013, and plans to invest £161m in a new science park near its head office in County Antrim.

Dr Peter FitzGerald, Managing Director of Randox said:

“Over the past 3 years we have witnessed a period of strong growth within Randox. Our success is largely due to our unwavering commitment to innovation and the skill, dedication and energy of our people – be they scientists, engineers, software developers or those fulfilling a wide range of business and support roles. This growth will enable us to further strengthen our infrastructure and increase the world leading research and development we are conducting – to achieve the earliest possible diagnosis of a very wide range of clinical conditions. At the moment 1-in-20 people on the globe are diagnosed using Randox tests and technology, and by 2020 we want to see this increase to 1-in-10. We remain dedicated to saving lives and improving health worldwide, and reinvesting our profits helps ensure that we will realise our vision.”

Two other Northern Ireland companies also make their debut on the Profit Track 100; County Antrim’s BI Electrical Services, and County Londonderry’s Tobermore Concrete Products.

The Profit Track 100 league table and awards programme is sponsored by BDO, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, and UBS Wealth Management. It is compiled by Fast Track, the Oxford-based research and networking events firm.

Peter Burnside, managing partner at BDO in Northern Ireland, the title sponsor of the league table, commented on the region’s success stories:

“Medium-sized businesses in Northern Ireland and across the UK are thriving. Our newly-named ‘Brittelstand’ has outgrown the German ‘Mittelstand’ with mid-market businesses across all sectors seizing the opportunities a growing economy presents. Northern Ireland’s most profitable companies have remained focused on sustainable growth by making intelligent investment decisions in innovation and overseas expansion.”