- Chief Commercial Officer of Aer Lingus, Stephen Kavanagh, CEO Christoph Mueller, and Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Macfarlane with the airline's preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2011.
Business is looking up at Aer Lingus. The former Irish flag carrier - which is still partly owned by the Irish taxpayer - posted pre-tax profits of €84.4 million last year, up from €27.2 million in 2010, this according to annual results published last week.
Revenue at the airline was up six percent at €1.29 billion, up from €1.22 billion, according to reports.
Operating profit at the airline was €49.1 million compared to an operating profit of €52.5 million in 2010, though the company noted that the operating result was "better than anticipated" at the start of 2011, primarily due to stronger yields, the Irish Times reported.
Overall, the results were in line with estimates. The airline has forecast that while profits in 2012 would be below 2011 levels, the airline would remain significantly profitable.
Despite the overall performance for 2011, Aer Lingus, did experience a turbulent fourth quarter with an operating loss before exceptional items increasing to €17.6 million - this compared to an operating loss of €7.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2010.
Chief Executive Officer, Christoph Mueller, said the results demonstrated the success of the changes that had been made to the business over the past two years.
"While the 2011 operating result was lower than that reported for 2010, it was nonetheless significantly ahead of our expectations at the start of 2011 and was achieved against a difficult backdrop of non-controllable fuel price inflation, increased airport charges, and challenging demand conditions in our primary markets," Mueller said.
"The majority of airlines which have been bought in the last two decades have been heavily loss-making. We are not in that territory," Mueller added.
Despite the good figures, Aer Lingus shares fell by almost 10 percent after they were posted as investors worried about the carrier's rising fuel bill, and the potential for pension issues to lead to industrial disputes.
Aer Lingus is still Irish government-owned to the tune of roughly 25 percent. The government recently confirmed that it will move to sell its Aer Lingus stake, probably in 2013.
Mueller said he would not like to see existing partnerships that Aer Lingus has with carriers Jet Blue in the U.S. compromised by any sale of the government's holding.
He insisted that he didn't have a preference for the stake being either sold to another carrier, or being placed with institutions. The chief executive of Abu Dhabi-based airline, Etihad, James Hogan, is one notable airline figure who has expressed an interest in investing in Aer Lingus.
