Airspace Investments, one of Ireland’s highest profile property firms, has bounced back from a €10.5m [£8.76m] loss to report a 67 per cent rise in profits.
O’Connell Street, Dublin
In 2011 the company limited an unexpected loss by writing down almost €12.8m [£10.6m]. Last year it wrote down another €418,932 in the value of its property holdings to return itself to the black with a €4.3m [£3.5m] pretax profit.
The impressive figures come despite a 14 per cent drop off in 2012 revenue, which fell from €9.56m to €8.24m [£7.9m to £6.8m] and is derived exclusively from rental income in Ireland, the UK and Barbados. The group made an operating profit last year of €4.59m [£3.83m] but net interest payments of €284,800 reduced the profits to €4.3m.
According to accounts and a directors’ report the cash-rich company has over €19m [£15.8m] in reserves and last year paid a dividend of €1.1m [£918,000]. The group’s shareholder funds last year totalled €45.3m [£37.8m].
Business, says the report, was “in line with expectations” with the directors “satisfied the group’s financial strength will enable it to respond to suitable opportunities over the coming years”. The only risk to future growth, it says, is a continued slowdown in economic activity and the downturn in the property market.
“Following repayment of a bank loan during the year, the group’s net debt-gearing ratio is a conservative 9 per cent,” adds the report. “When non-recourse debt is excluded, the group is in a net cash position. The strength of the balance sheet is further reflected in the €72m [£60m] of property assets which have no attributable bank debt.”
Filed with Companies House in Dublin the documents state: “On November 30, 2012, the group had development land, stocks, and works in progress with a carrying value of €40.6m [£33.8m]. The economic environment and in particular the lack of transactional activity in the property market creates a general uncertainty about the carrying value of development land, stocks and work in progress.
“Against this background the directors have considered the carrying value of the group’s development land, stocks, and work in progress and where appropriate have written down these values.”
Airspace and its subsidiaries were founded in 1980 and led for many years by Cork developer, Mr Ken Rohan. A one-time member of Ireland’s Rich List with a personal wealth of almost £130m, he made the bulk of his money by building Dublin office blocks and several business parks around the capital, as well as developments in the UK and Barbados.
In 2008 Airspace suffered a disastrous year with turnover halved and profits down 80 per cent to €7m [£5.8m]. The following year Ken Rohan stepped down to allow his 34-year-old son, Jamie, to take over as managing director. He remains a director and majority shareholder in the Dublin-based group.
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