Loss of €2.9m at DAA Finance

A COMPANY involved in managing the Dublin Airport Authority's debt made a pretax loss of €2.9 million in the 12 months to the end of February 2008.

Accounts just filed with the Companies Office by DAA Finance plc also indicate that its parent company owed €360.6 million at the end of February.

This represented a decline of more than €6 million on the figure at the end of February 2007.

The loans comprise €250 million in Eurobonds at a fixed rate of 6.15 per cent. This is repayable on February 16th, 2011, and is guaranteed by its parent company.

It also has a 18-year bank loan of €110 million with the European Investment Bank. This was drawn down on August 19th, 2002, at a rate of 5.12 per cent and is payable "semi-annually" and guaranteed by the airport manager.

The DAA has accumulated substantial debt in recent years relating to the costs involved in the major reconstruction of the airport complex.

It plans to invest €2 billion in the airport campus, including a second terminal building, a revamp of the original facility, an upgrade to runway and aircraft parking facilities, new roads and utilities.

DAA Finance's accounts show that it earned interest income of €18.5 million last year while interest repayments amounted to €21.4 million. In terms of the interest expense, €15.5 million was paid out on loan notes and €5.9 million on bank borrowings.

The company booked a tax credit of €2.6 million to end the year with a loss of €271,000. This left it with total equity of €751,000.

The tax credit related to "the surrender of tax losses to undertakings" in the DAA group by the parent company. No new funding was put in place by DAA Finance during the year.