MAG has worst performance in five years

MANCHESTER Airport Group, which in July reported a 19% fall in operating profits for 2008, had its worst financial performance in five years, newly filed accounts show.

Despite the fall in profits MAG Group chief executive Geoff Muirhead was awarded a bonus of £110,000, which swelled his financial package to more than £500,000.

Last month, the group reported full year revenues of £371.3m and operating profits of £78.4m for the year to the end of March 2009, a fall of 19% and 6% respectively, to a five year low for the company on both counts.

But the headline fall in revenue includes “strategic decisions to refocus some non-core business areas”, which the company said in its report reduced turnover but “are value enhancing at operating profit level”.

Although passenger numbers across the group fell 6% to 27.3 million – worse than the UK average of 5% – the strategy did show some dividends. Aviation income per passenger increased to a high of £6.50 per passenger, as did commercial income to £5.90 per passenger.

Despite the fall in revenues and profit, and the company-wide pay freeze over the next year, group chief executive Geoff Muirhead saw his salary (including fees and expenses) hit £391,000, with total emoluments for the year increasing 35% from £378,000 to £512,000.

Meanwhile, the company’s overall wage bill was reduced to £64.3m, from £72.4m a year earlier, on the back of redundancies.