Directors of Shannon arm of aircraft leasing firm share €11.2m payout

The 14 directors of the Irish arm of the world’s largest aircraft leasing firm last year shared a pay pot of $15.27m (€11.2m).

Sat, 28 Jun, 2014 - 01:00

Gordon Deegan

GE Capital Aviation Services Ltd (GECAS) is based at Shannon and new figures lodged with the Companies Office show that pre-tax profits at the firm last year reduced by 31% from $124.2m to $84.9m. The drop in pre-tax profits came in spite of revenues rising 18% from $218.8m to $260.1m in the 12 months to the end of last December. Operating profits increased more than sevenfold, from $4.1m to $31.79m.

The decrease in pre-tax profits is attributable to dividends received from five subsidiaries reducing from $122.5m to $48.1m. The accounts show that eight of the high-flying directors are Irish, with the average pay of $1.09m each.

The $15.27m payout includes $6m in bonuses; $6.46m in salaries; $1m in pension payments; $1m in share-based payments; and $624,000 benefits in kind.

Earlier this year, GECAS, led by its president and chief executive Norman Liu, placed an order for 40 Boeing 737s with a list price of nearly $4bn.

A subsidiary of US giant General Electric, GECAS Ltd is one of a cluster of companies in the Shannon Free Zone engaged in aircraft leasing, that also includes Shannon Engine Support and AerCap.

GECAS has more than 1,600 owned and managed aircraft with 230 customers in 75 countries.