PROFITS at Dungannon aviation manufacturer Mallaghan more than doubled from £2.4 million in 2018 to £4.9 million in the 2019 calendar year, according to accounts filed at Companies House.
It came on a vastly increased turnover, which jumped by 26 per cent from £55.5m to just shy of £70m.
But given the catastrophic impact on the global aviation sector by the Covid pandemic, the company is warning that these figures could be a high point, given that the business has already been forced to make a number of staff redundant amid work drying up.
Managing director Ronan Mallaghan said: “In March, as the group was preparing its financial statements, the global impact of Covid-19 was beginning to emerge.
“The pandemic has had a devastating effect on the aviation sector and significantly reduced demand for our products.
“We came into this crisis on a sound financial footing and have a robust strategic plan in place to navigate the challenges in the sector.
“And we're hopeful we will see a gradual return in demand in early 2022, when global air passenger numbers start to recover.”
As part of their strategic plan, the company plans to continue its research and development programme to develop new energy efficient products to aid the drive towards reducing the emissions in the aviation sector.
Employing 365 staff at its Edendork operation and its other base in Atlanta, Georgia, Mallaghan is a global leader in the manufacture of aviation ground support equipment, with a customer base including some of the world’s largest airlines, airports plus ground handling and catering companies.
Its principal products include high lift trucks for catering, cabin cleaning and facilitating passengers with restricted movement, as well as de-icing rigs, water and waste trucks, baggage conveyors and various forms of passenger stairs.
Last year Mallaghan announced a major contract to build a fleet of airport buses for Ryanair, and it also secured a multi-million dollar deal with one of the world’s biggest airlines Delta to build and supply maintenance platform lifts at airports across the US.
