The chief executive of FLS Aerospace has resigned, adding to the woes of the former TEAM Aer Lingus. Mr Stephen Henderson's departure comes at a bad time for the troubled aircraft maintenance company, which wants up to 200 redundancies from its 1,600 staff in Dublin in the wake of the September 11th attacks on the US.

Mr Henderson joined FLS less than two years ago. The company said in a statement that he was returning to the US to spend more time with his family.

FLS Aerospace is expected to report a heavy loss for 2001 when provision is made to pay for 900 redundancies at operations in Dublin, Manchester, London and Copenhagen. Attempts to sell the company to US group United Technologies faltered after September 11th. The deal was all but done before the attacks, and its cancellation was a major setback for Mr Henderson.

While investors are still being sought, the company's spokeswoman in Dublin said it was not in talks at the moment. Further uncertainty was cast over the ownership of the company's parent, FLS Industries, when its largest shareholder said last month that it wanted to exit the business.

Potagua Ltd owns 46 per cent of FLS, a Copenhagen-based conglomerate, but controls 60 per cent of votes on its board.

The group, which has significant interests in the cement business, has performed poorly in recent years. Its stock has diminished to about 70 Danish krone from about Dkr250 in 1997.

FLS Industries' managing director and chairman of FLS Aerospace, Mr Peter Assam, said yesterday that Potagua had received no expressions of interest in its stake. The company, controlled by families who set up the original FLS operations in the 1900s, had a three to five-year projection for the sale of its interest. He said: "The current stock performance is not sufficient for the investors to sell out."

Mr Assam would not say whether the group was disappointed that Mr Henderson was leaving at the end of the month, but thanked him for his work.

Mr Henderson was appointed in April 2002 to deliver a "drastic turnaround process" after heavy losses. While the company reported marginal profits in the first three quarters last year, these will be exceeded by losses in the final three months of 2001.

Mr Assam said: "We estimate profits for the first quarter this year and we estimate profits for the whole of the year, operating profits at least."

FLS's vice-president for strategic planning, Mr Mike Humphreys, has been appointed acting chief executive, but the company said talks were underway with "several prospective candidates" to replace Mr Henderson.

From Scotland, Mr Henderson joined FLS from the GE group in the US. He will remain a member of the company's board. He was not available yesterday to comment.