Aer Rianta makes profit of €9m on sale of interests

The Shannon-based duty free operator Aer Rianta International last year booked a profit of €9.3m on the sale of interests in its Commonwealth of Independent States-based duty-free business helping to increase its profits by 51% to €28.5m.

The firm celebrated its 25th year in operation last year. It owns or operates retail businesses in nine countries across north America, the Middle East and Asia.

The accounts show the company had the large jump in profits in spite of revenues more than halving from €62.1m to €28.5m. This is mainly attributable to it selling its 33.3% shareholding in Aerofirst, the Moscow airport retail operation and its interest in Kievrianta LLC.

The sale completed Aer Rianta International’s planned withdrawal from Russia and Ukraine to focus on higher growth operations in core markets. It increased its shareholding in its Bahrain headquartered subsidiary to 71%.

The figures show revenues in its Commonwealth of Independent States/Europe sector last year fell from €58.5m to €24.3m in contrast to revenues in the Middle East rising from €3.5m to €4m. The company’s corporate tax bill for the year was €41,000. Based on the 12.5% rate, the liability would have been €3.5m.