Dublin-based travel software company Datalex is adding 200 staff
The company once had over 500 people on its payroll – but it’s been steadily building back to strength.
TRAVEL SOFTWARE COMPANY Datalex has announced it will create 100 jobs in Dublin as it boosts its global workforce by more than one-third.
The tech firm, which has offices in Beijing, Atlanta and Manchester, as well as in East Point Business Park locally, said this morning it planned to add 200 jobs to its current headcount of 450.
Datalex CEO Aidan Brogan said it was “an exciting time of growth” for the business and the company was recruiting globally and throughout Ireland for a range of development and other roles.
“In response to the significant global demand for our digital commerce platform, we are looking for the very best talent to deliver the next evolution of digital travel commerce,” he said.
The company delivered an after-tax profit of $4.2 million last year, up more than 50% on the previous year, and revenue of over $46 million. It first swung back into profit in 2012 after a string of losses.
A brief history
Datalex was set up by Scottish businessman Neil Wilson in the mid-1980s to provide early software solutions to airlines and travel agents.
It floated on the Nasdaq and Irish stock exchanges in 2000, however it delisted from the New York market two years later after the dot-com bubble burst and its value melted in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.
Wilson stood down as the head of the company at the time, while the company trimmed its staff from more than 500 to around 300.
Datalex reinvented its business approach around six years ago to a transaction-based model, under which it gets a small cut every time a deal is done using its software. It counts major airlines like Delta, Air China and Aer Lingus among its current list of customers, and has a current market value of around €146 million.
Deirdre Somers, CEO of the Irish Stock Exchange, said Datalex’s “achievements and ambitious plans for growth reinforce the considerable strides that Irish companies are making in the digital commerce sector”.
With reporting from Órla Ryan
