AER LINGUS SAYS STILL DIFFICULT TO MAKE FORECASTS FOR THE REST OF 2010 - Aer Lingus has reported operating losses of €81m for last year and a 27% bigger pre-tax loss of €154.8m. Its total revenues fell by 11% to €1.205 billion euro, while passenger numbers were up 3.8 per cent to 10.4 million.
The airline published its full annual results today - these had been delayed by industrial relations problems. But since cabin crew voted in a second ballot to accept the airline's cost cutting plan, Aer Lingus says its expects to get staff cost savings of €40m this year.
Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller says operations improved in the first quarter of 2010, although it is difficult to make forecasts for the rest of the year. He said the airline is satisfied that it has started the process of improving yields while implementing the necessary cost reduction programme.
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KEY DAY FOR IRISH BANKS - Three things are happening today in the Irish banking industry. This evening the Financial Regulator will announce what new capital levels it is setting for the banks - this mean the banks will have to set aside more cash to cover future losses. Then NAMA, the National Asset Management Agency, will reveal the extent of the discount its paying on the loan portfolios that it is taking over from the financial institutions, and then the Finance Minister will announce the new capital needs of the banks and building societies. Any one of these things would be a pretty big deal on its own, but all of them together make for a momentous day. This is Brian Lenihan's so-called master plan to fix the banks, as he said yesterday, the plan to sort out the banks so they can support economic recovery
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MORNING BRIEFS - House builders McInerney Holdings has reported pre-tax losses of €25m, and said it would be paying no dividend for 2009. It said it has written down its Irish land bank by 50% and its UK land bank by almost 40% since the middle of 2008.
