MonAer profits fall €5m in 2003

A property development company owned by Aer Rianta and builder Liam Carroll saw its profits plunge by €5 million last year.

MonAer (Cork) Limited recorded pre-tax profits of €1.1m, down from €6.1m the previous year.

However, the 2002 figures were boosted by a gain of €11.4m for the sale of land to Dublin Bus.

Excluding this revenue, MonAer said rental income for the year had risen from €930,290 to €1.12m.

The company balance sheet shows that it had development land on its books worth €36m.

One of the main assets of the firm is the Horizon Business Park in north county Dublin.

The directors of MonAer are listed as Mr Carroll, Tim Kenny, Michael Murphy and Margaret Sweeney. Ms Sweeney left Aer Rianta as interim chief executive two months ago with a controversial €800,000 pay off.

Her resignation as a director of MonAer has not been notified to the Companies Registration Office.

MonAer is a subsidiary of Turckton Developments Limited, which is a joint venture equally owned by then Aer Rianta and Dunloe Ewart, Mr Carroll’s company.

In 2003, MonAer bought a developing site from Turckton for €7.2m and also received a loan of €1.2m.

Mr Carroll, the media-shy builder worth around €100m, became a director of MonAer when he acquired Dunloe Ewart in 2002.