THE ANNUAL general meeting of Kerry Airport at Farranfore yesterday heard calls for token dividends or concessions such as discounted car parking to be paid to smaller ordinary shareholders who had staked their money in the early 1990s.
The company has a policy of not paying dividends, but investing its money instead in improving airport facilities at the country’s second biggest regional airport, the meeting heard.
However, it was time that it decided whether it was “a commercial business or a charity”, shareholders told the board in the Earl of Desmond hotel in Tralee.
The meeting also heard how the major Arab investor in the airport (Saudi Sheik Mahfouz) had put money in “not to do with dividends, but other documentation”, and would not expect a dividend.
Airport chairman Denis Cregan also told the meeting that Ryanair, which replaces Aer Arann from the end of July in operating the public service obligation flights between Kerry and Dublin, would have bigger carriers, but would be offering one flight less per day. He said this was a downside.
After-tax profit for the airport amounted to €565,809, an increase of 18 per cent on the previous year. Revenues fell slightly, due to loss of the Government marketing and revenue grant in 2007.
Passenger numbers also fell by 5,000 to 388,000 due mainly to the loss of the Ryanair Liverpool flight, according to the 2007 results published some time ago.
The airport operates flights to London Stansted and to Luton, Manchester and Frankfurt Hahn, which was a highly successful link, the meeting heard, as well as weekly flights to Lorient in France and a charter flight to Majorca.
Kerry Airport had not managed to sustain charter companies and this was an area of concern, Mr Cregan said.
Various operators had flown from Kerry for a season but had not maintained their links. As a result, Kerry was behind its peers such as Knock.
It was also under severe competition for this type of business from Cork and Shannon.
However, there was some expectation that the current charter operator Falcon holidays, which flies to Majorca weekly, would perform better and there may be potential there, the chairman said.
Targets of reaching a million passengers in five or six years were still realistic, provided the high energy prices currently affecting airlines were addressed.
Denis Stack, a Listowel Fine Gael councillor, was one of a number of speakers to call for some tokens for shareholders.
Noting that the annual report recommended nil dividend to shareholders, he said: “It is time to decide whether this is a commercial business or a charitable organisation . . . It would be nice to get some recognition. We are not looking for money.”
Mr Stack seconded a proposal by former councillor James Courtney that a small dividend be paid. Mr Cregan said the airport was most definitely a viable business. However, its track record on dividends was pretty dismal, as it preferred to retain cash for capital expenditure. At the moment it was having discussions with the Department of Transport .
Some €17.7 million was allocated last year under Transport 21 for the airport extension, which includes a new terminal building, but the airport would have to come up with about €2 million itself.
The meeting was told that the company did not pay its directors for attendance at board meetings and that it would take on board the sentiments of the meeting and see what it could do to recognise ordinary shareholders who invested for a variety of reasons.