The chief executive of FLS Aerospace, the Danish firm which acquired TEAM Aer Lingus in 1998, has resigned after the company said it expected losses of more than €25 million for 1999.
An FLS spokeswoman in Dublin said Mr Steffen Harpth resigned with immediate effect last Thursday, following a "disappointing financial result" last year.
The losses were attributed to a poor operational performance at its headquarters in Copenhagen and non-recurring items associated with the heavy maintenance activity in Britain.
But the spokeswoman said FLS's Irish operations would return a "record profit" for 1999. Declining to reveal the expected profit figure, she said the order book at the firm's plant at Dublin Airport was worth more than €400 million.
A number of "exceptional one-off items" had contributed to the losses, she said. "There were certain items that had to be attributed in the year. Provisions for poor contracts had to be taken." Significant restructuring had also "taken its toll". Changes in international accounting standards had also affected profitability, she added.
Contacted at his home in Copenhagen last night, Mr Harpth said: "The reason is that we have been very successful with the acquisition of TEAM, but I took my eye off the ball in England and in Copenhagen Airport and we had losses. I decided this was my responsibility."
Asked when he had decided to resign, Mr Harpoth said: "It came quietly over the past few months. It materialised when we wanted to make a stock exchange release and I thought it was time to go." The spokeswoman said the firm's staff in Dublin were "surprised and disappointed" to hear the news.
The company employs 1,850 workers in Dublin, about 350 more than when it was bought from Aer Lingus for an undisclosed sum.
Speculation at the time of the deal suggested that FLS paid about £25 million for TEAM. Mr Harpth was a key figure in the deal.
FLS Industries group president and chief executive Mr Birger Riisager will manage the aerospace company until a successor to Mr Harpth is appointed. Mr Riisager visited the company's Dublin plant on Monday to speak to staff.
