PRETAX PROFITS at the Irish arm of one of Europe’s leading aircraft maintenance firms, Air Atlanta, last year increased fourfold to €711,834.
The Shannon-based Air Atlanta Aero Engineering Ltd employs 246 people in the Shannon Free Zone and to the end of October last the company increased its turnover by 19.5 per cent from €23.2 million to €27.7 million.
Accounts recently filed show that the company’s pretax profits last year increased from €173,264 to €711,834.
The increased profits reduced the company’s accumulated losses to €4.7 million.
However, the company has €1.6 million in shareholders funds after called-up share capital of €6.4 million is taken into account.
The Icelandic-owned Air Atlanta is one of a number of aircraft maintenance firms located in Shannon, where Shannon Aerospace and Magellan Air are based.
A number of aircraft leasing firms are also located at the Shannon Free Zone included Shannon Engine Support, GECAS and Genesis Leasing.
The directors said “the focus has been to continue our presence as a third-party maintenance, repair and overhaul provider (MRO), providing high quality, cost effective and fast turnaround maintenance.
“Our success in delivering this message has resulted in the company attracting well-know owner-operators and entering into long-term contracts with them. The company closely monitors sales developments on a regular basis to maximise opportunities in different sectors,” they said.
The numbers employed by the company increased from 234 to 246.
The increase in the numbers employed resulted in the company’s staff costs increasing by 5 per cent from €11.8 million to €12.4 million. Emoluments to directors increased marginally from €248,984 to €252,646.
A detailed breakdown of the company’s administration costs shows that legal and professional fees more than doubled from €97,771 to €243,925.
The breakdown also shows that bad debts totalling €659,323 were written off during the year.
The company performs heavy maintenance on Boeing 737, 757, 767 and 727 aircraft and the company’s services extend to airlines, VIP operators and aircraft leasing companies.
