Pre-tax profit declined by 51.9 per cent to 40.6m euros in 2012 at Irish airline company Aer Lingus, while post-tax profit slid 52.1 per cent to 34.1m euros.

The group attributed the decrease in pre-tax profit to exceptional items, among them the cost of relocating the A330 hangar maintenance operations at Shannon to Dublin, and stated that the metric was not reflective of Aer Lingus' underlying profitability of the business.

"In 2011, exceptional gains were recorded on the surrender of the group's leasehold interest in the Head Office Building at Dublin Airport to DAA and also from releases of amounts from the cash flow hedging reserve relating to foreign currency hedges on long haul aircraft orders that became surplus to requirements," it said.

"In 2012, exceptional items include costs associated with restructuring our Shannon aircraft maintenance operations and legal and professional fees associated with Ryanair Holding's third takeover offer for the group which was formally made on July 17th 2012."

Gross cash rose 1.5% to 908.5m euros on December 31st compared to 894.8m euros a year earlier. Retail revenue per passenger rose 3.1% to 18.28 euros compared to 17.73 euros a year earlier.

The company, which operates both long and short-haul flights reported a 1.5% rise in the number of passengers using its flights to 9.7m compared to 9.5m a year earlier.

Approximately 90% of all passengers travelled on short-haul flights.

Christoph Mueller, Chief Executive Officer of Aer Lingus, said: "2012 was an excellent year for Aer Lingus. We made an operating profit for the year which is 40.7% above 2011. Our operating margin, as a measure of our competitiveness, has increased to 5.0% with free cash flow of €75.2m," he added.

"I firmly believe that this result, representing our third consecutive year of profitability, validates our value carrier business model and shows that our strategy is delivering a leaner, more efficient and profitable airline, to the benefit of customers, shareholders and staff. Therefore we are proposing to pay an increased dividend of 4.0 cent per share for 2012."

He added: "In 2013, the management team will remain focused on creating demonstrable value for our shareholders. After the successful delivery of the Greenfield restructuring programme in 2012, resolving the complex pension legacy and further efficiency improvements across the organisation will drive the management agenda in 2013."

MF

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