SINGAPORE - The headcount at Dyson’s Singapore base received a 35 per cent boost to more than 1,920 employees in 2023 as the multinational tech company booked higher revenues globally for the year to £7.1 billion (S$12 billion).
The 9 per cent rise in revenue was accompanied by a similar rise in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) – a measure of profitability – to £1.4 billion.
Dyson also significantly increased long-term investments, growing research and development expenditure by more than 40 per cent in 2023. This brings the company’s total investments, including capital expenditure, to more than £2 billion since 2021.
The revenue boost was due to strong growth in Dyson’s beauty products, with the Airwrap multi-styler continuing to be in high demand globally, alongside the newly launched Airstrait, which dries and straightens hair simultaneously, said a Dyson spokesman.
Dyson is known for its high-end consumer electronics with sleek industrial aesthetics and highly engineered precision motors under the hood.
Despite headwinds – including a challenging economic environment, inflation, product shortages and the continuing impact of closing Dyson’s Russia business – 2023 was a very good year in which Dyson continued to invest in technology, products and the resilience of the company, said its founder and chief engineer James Dyson.
Following a launch event for the Dyson Airstrait straightener in Paris on Feb 28, he said: “We are ahead of our investment plan and have launched radical new products such as the professional Dyson Supersonic hair dryer, Dyson Airstrait straightener, Dyson Zone and an entirely new way to clean hard floors with our wet cleaners – we are excited to get these products into people’s hands in 2024.”
Meanwhile, Dyson continues to develop a pioneering new-technology battery facility in Singapore. Almost half of Dyson Singapore’s employees are engineers and scientists.
This year will see Dyson launch the biggest suite of products to date that will reach consumers, said the Dyson spokesman.
“We will deliver new technologies for the home, while growing our presence in beauty, and advancing our technologies in robotics and wearables. We have also invested in fundamental ‘core technologies’ such as batteries and robotic vision systems, which underpin these exciting innovations. Our investment will continue and we are currently investing more than £9 million per week into research and development,” the spokesman added.
In Britain, Dyson’s £100 million investment in a major new technology centre in Bristol is under way, which will be home to software and AI engineers working on a pipeline of products that stretches 10 years into the future, as well as the global technology company’s commercial and e-commerce teams for Great Britain and Ireland, said Dyson in a statement on Feb 29.
In the United States, Dyson’s new office and flagship store in Mercer Street in the heart of New York’s Soho district will open later this year.
