Increase in profits for bmi
The bmi group has today reported pre-tax profits of £29.7m (€43.5m), up from £10m (€14.6m) from 2005.
The airline also reported a 4.2% increase in turnover to £905.4m (€1,38bn), up from £869m (€1.27bn). Before exceptional items, operating profit rose by 85% to £10.2m (€15m).
New security measures at the compnay’s principal base of operations, Heathrow airport, are estimated to have cost the airline £10m (€14.7m) in lost revenues, however.
Increased fuel costs, higher user charges at Heathrow and an increased pension charge were additional factors in restraining profitability for the year.
The group continued to generate a strong cash flow and its cash holding at the year end was £156m (€228.75m), up from £143.4m (€210m). Debt was reduced to £57.2m (€83.9m), down from £85.8m (€125.8) in the previous year.
The total number of passengers carried by the group during the year was 10.5 million, the same level as in the previous year.
In Ireland, bmi accounts for the third largest volume of passenger traffic at Dublin Airport and operates up to seven return flights daily on the Dublin-London Heathrow route.
The airline first entered the Irish marketplace in 1989.
