AER Lingus will show good progress when it releases its 1995 results next week, but it still has a long way to go, the group's chief executive, Mr Gary McGann, has said in his first major interview with The Irish Times.
"The underlying profit trends are positive . . . but I don't think we're making anything like enough money for long term sustainable viability," Mr McGann said. The results are expected to show an improvement in the group's fortunes, but with continued losses at troubled aircraft maintenance subsidiary TEAM.
TEAM is thought to have lost in the region of £9.5 million last year, compared to the £27.9 million loss for the 21 month period to the end of 1994. The losses are in line with its five year development plan, but Mr McGann has warned that TEAM has to be turned around.
"Budgeting losses in the good times is all very fine, but this is a cyclical business and the capacity of this group to fund loss makers of any sort - whether it's TEAM or any other part of the group - on a sustained basis, and to do so knowing that it's facing into a downward cycle with a thin balance sheet is a fool's paradise quite frankly." Page 18
