This article is from page 55 of the 2009-07-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 55 JPG
ALITTLE-KNOWN Shannon-based aircraft engine leasing firm employ- ing just 22 people made a pre-tax profit of $72.3 million in 2008.
Accounts filed to the Companies Office, show that US-French owned Shannon Engine Support Ltd in- creased its turnover last year by 17 per cent from $139m to $163m. Pre- tax profits dropped by 14 per cent from $84m to $72m to the end of December last.
The drop in profits was related to a 33 per cent increase in direct oper- ating costs from $68m to $91m and this was, according to the directors, due to the investment of $284m dur- ing 2008. The company had accumu- lated profits of $380.4m at the end of 2008 with total shareholder funds at owen
Shannon Engine Support Ltd leas- es engines to 140 airlines around the world and is a subsidiary of CFM, which is a joint venture between US giant, General Electric (GE) and the French-owned engine manufacturer, Snecma.
The company’s directors report that the Shannon operation had another successful year in 2008, even though the overall business environment and general market outlook deteriorated during the year as the global eco- nomic slowdown worsened.
“Demand for the company’s prod- ucts as measured by the utilization of its engine assets remained strong throughout 2008, but is expected to be softer in 2009, as the global econ- omy continues to slow down.
“The financial condition of the commercial airline industry is of particular importance to the com- pany and in the current global down- turn, the company expects reduced demand for its engines.”
“It is expected that the company will continue to expand its portfolio of engine assets during 2009, and that it will continue to be well posi- tioned to benefit from any upturn in the aviation sector.”
No dividend was paid last year.
Of the 22 people employed at Shan- non, seven are in customer support, Six in financial, five in administra- tion and four in marketing. Staff costs increased by 34 per cent from $2.8m to $3.8m.
The directors state that the com- pany’s operating profit decreased by 3 per cent after a significant rise in direct operating costs and the weak- ness of the US dollar versus the euro during the year.