DESPITE ASH AND WEATHER, AER LINGUS FLIES BACK INTO THE BLACK - This morning saw results from airline Aer Lingus and building materials group Kingspan.
Aer Lingus said it returned to profit in 2010, despite ash clouds, snow and a lower number of passengers. It has reported pre-tax profits of €30.4m, compared to a loss of €154.8m in 2009. The airline says that last year was difficult, with passenger numbers down 10% at Dublin airport.
Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller says that 2010 saw quite a turnaround for the airline due to its changed business strategy. He says that the airline's reduced costs contributed to its €140m turnaround and he is quite happy. However, he says that he is expecting further significant challenges this year, with trading likely to be impacted by oil price inflation, increased airport charges at Dublin and London and difficult conditions at home.
Mr Mueller says that Aer Lingus is reviewing whether or not to impose a fuel surcharge on its routes as the price of fuel continues to surge. He says the charges are common in the industry, and while he does not foresee an increase in the short term, the issue will be constantly monitored.
Last week, Aer Lingus said it had agreed a deal to pay Revenue €32.5m to settle a dispute over its 2008 redundancy scheme. The airline's CEO says he is confident that the charge will not go above 32.5m but as talks are continuing with Revenue, he stated that he could not comment any further.
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KINGSPAN'S FIRST GROWTH IN THREE YEARS - Co-Cavan based Kingspan saw sales last year rise by 6% to €1.19 billion - its first growth in three years. Operating profits rose by 8% to €67.4m.
Kingspan's chief executive Gene Murtagh says the company saw a high performance in its insulation business with a return to stability in its UK business and strong growth in North America. He says that Kingspan sees a lot of its growth in North-West Europe - especially in the Benelux countries and Germany. Growth in Australia was also very strong last year and is expected to remain so this year. Mr Murtagh says that while conditions in its markets have become a lot more stable than recent years, real buoyancy remains absent. However, the company is seeing 'reasonable' activity on refurbishments as people realise that good insulation is a good way to deal with rising energy costs.
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MORNING BRIEFS - The Department of Finance will publish the Bank Resolution Bill later today. This will give the Financial Regulator new powers to deal with financially distressed banks. Publication of the Bill is part of the EU - IMF agreement. Special resolution regimes give the authorities legal powers to take fast action to deal with failing banks. It proposes to give the Financial Regulator new powers, likely to include the power to split banks into good and bad parts, and transfer bits of banks to other institutions. It will also provide for the appointment of special managers to run banks on behalf of the regulator, and to have so-called bridge banks - effectively subsidiaries of the Central Bank, where parts of banks can be held pending their sale to other institutions
*** On the currency markets the euro is trading at $1.3771 cents and 85.29 pence sterling.
