Profit doubles at Aergo Capital to over $10m

The "Irish Times" reports that year end after tax profit at Aergo Capital more than doubled to $10.7m for the year ended December 2008. The company was founded in 1999 by Denis O'Brien who owns 85% of the company along with chief executive Fred Browne who holds the balance. The exceptional 2008 performance is in spite of Aergo taking a charge of $15m when Alitalia returned 25 MD82 aircraft after the carrier was placed in administration. Aergo also took a hit of $18m following it's successful acquisition of South African operator Safair.
At present, the Aergo Capital fleet consists of 90 aircraft placed with 25 operators worldwide including KLM, DHL, South African Airways and the UN. At the end of 2008 the fleet had a book value of $344m. Although the company is Dublin based for tax purposes it's operational bases are South Africa and Chile. Last week it opened a third base with three aircraft in Nairobi.