GB Airways takes the plunge

GB Airways profits take the plunge

Pre-tax trading profit of GB Airways has gone sharply downhill, with the latest available figures showing a decrease of more than half the previous accounting year.

The pre-tax trading profit for the financial year ending March 2003 was £5.19million compared with £12.91 million the previous year.

The company says that 'general uncertain economic conditions, the Iraqi conflict and its build-up and ongoing terrorist threats have all contributed to passenger uncertainty and a downturn in higher yield traffic.'

The sharp downtrend in pre-tax trading profit has arisen despite the airline carrying more passengers, having additional revenue in seat-kilometres and an increase in turnover.

The directors recommended a dividend for the year of £1.30 million.

£1 NOMINEE SHARE 

According to the register maintained as required under the Companies Act 1985, no Director held any interest in the share capital of the company, with the exception of Mr Joseph J Gaggero who holds one ordinary £1 share as nominee of GB Airways UK Holdings Ltd.

At the year end Mr Joseph J Gaggero (who is their President) and Mr James P Gaggero (who is the Chairman) were also directors of fellow group undertakings incorporated in Great Britain which are required to keep a register of directors' interests. The directors were not therefore required to notify their interests in the shares of the fellow group undertakings to the company.

A note to the Profit and Loss Account says: 'There have been no recognised gains and losses attributable to the shareholders other than the profit for the current and preceding financial year and accordingly, no statement of total recognised gains and losses is shown.'

The accounts are signed by Mr James P. Gaggero on behalf of the Board of directors.

The company has 8 directors, with Mr J. Patterson being the managing director. Sr Guillermo Serrano, with an address in Madrid, was appointed in January 2003. The other directors are British.

The accounts for GB Airways UK Holdings Ltd, which show identical pre-tax profit and dividend to that of GB Airways Ltd, has three directors, the Gaggeros and Mr J.C. Hawkins who appears in both companies as director and also as secretary.

REGISTERED IN UK 

The airline has long ceased to be a Gibraltar company. Its registered office is at the Beehive Building in West Sussex; its bankers are in Horley, Surrey; its solicitors are in London and its auditors are in Crawley.

GB Airways is a franchisee of British Airways

Who ultimately controls the airline?

There is a web of companies related to GB Airways Ltd, the directors saying that the company's ultimate parent company and controlling party is Jargo Holdings Ltd, which is registered in Guernsey, Channel Islands.

Meanwhile, the parent undertaking of the largest group of undertakings for which group accounts are drawn up and of which the company is a member is Bland Group Ltd, which is registered in Jersey, Channel Islands.

The accounts of Bland Group Ltd and Jargo Holdings Ltd are not publicly available.

In the year ended 31 March 2003, GB Airways Ltd made no payments in respect of aircraft subleases to its intermediate parent undertaking, GB Group Ltd, and owed £472,000 to GB Group Ltd.

The company has paid £112,500 in management fees to Bland Group Ltd, described as its ultimate parent, and also £774,000 in office rent to the same company.

Included within direct operating costs are charges of £256,000 from a fellow subsidiary, Airside Services (Gibraltar) Ltd. There was £25,000 owed to Airside (Gibraltar) Ltd.

Another fellow subsidiary, Cadogan Travel Ltd, received a standard industry commission on tickets sold by the company at a value of £2.67 million. These transactions were conducted on normal commercial terms. Nil outstanding.

Bland Ltd, a fellow subsidiary, also received a standard industry commission on tickets sold by them at a value of £2.34 million. The company was owed £91,000 by Bland Ltd.

The company has paid £29,000 in pound-for-pound payment for group tax relief in respect of losses transferred from Cadogan Travel Ltd, a fellow subsidiary. At 31 March 2003 the company was owed £7,000 from Cadogan Travel Ltd.

The company says it has taken advantage of the exemption in Financial Reporting Standard No.8 not to disclose transactions with its immediate parent undertaking GB UK Holdings Ltd

WATCHDOG

The shameful state of some areas in Gibraltar

by Joe Carseni

I can only describe government's couldn't-care less attitude as pathetic. 

It seems that some ministers are not in the least concerned how their department can be affected by other ministers neglect or lack of initiative in carrying out their responsibilities. 

I sometimes wonder if Mr. Caruana's style of Macro-Management impedes his appointed ministers to exercise their official duties and or allows them use their brains. 

Perhaps Mr. Caruana would be better off having puppets instead of ministers that will only move to act when strings are pulled.

Now there's an idea for you Peter, imagine how much less it'll cost to run government!!

QUESTION 

Let me ask myself a question and then I'll give an answer....Why don't these ministers get off their backsides for a change and take drives around the Rock so that they can see for themselves and make notes of what needs to be addressed and taken care of ?

Answer: Because they are afraid of bringing these things to his attention and by refraining , they avoid being told off and the embarrassment that goes with it. Somebody should stand up to the CM. Look at him straight in the eye and tell him where to go. Tell him guys !

He gave you guys a job to do and he should let you do it.

Photos show broken wall/balustrades going up Europa Road that has been in that state for who the hell knows how long. 

Also, towards the bottom of Scud Hill, the same thing and as if these were not obvious enough, they have tied a piece of orange mesh to cover the holes between these balustrades. 

Do you really think that mesh will prevent someone from going over? Don't kid yourself Peter, send a crew over to these places and get it fixed before someone gets hurt. 

Then I'll be there to say... " I told you so " I don't think you need that extra headache Peter.

CARING COMMITTEE 

If ministers are too busy to do a little foot-work themselves (which I doubt), Mr. Caruana should consider the possibility of putting together a committee of good caring citizens that can go around listing Things To Do and in view that he wants to Macro Manage, let them report directly to him, why bother going through his ministers, it'll only delay actioning.

People reading my articles, have approached me and have praised me for being a straight shooter and also say that no matter what I write about, government officials won't even care and they'll just sweep it under the carpet... 

Well I tell you what !! I will praise when praise is due but I will also go straight to the point with NO Bull S... and will not hesitate to criticize any government official that is not doing his/her job. 

RED TAPE 

I want Mr. Caruana and his cabinet to know that the Watch-Dog is here ready to bite their jagular (figuratively speaking!) and if I can make just a little difference in pushing them to get their house in order, then I would have accomplished something.

Peter, Macro-Management works well ONLY for a small private company but not for Gibraltar... cut the red tape and all the B.S. that goes with it and get things done.

The ARMANDO LAGRANDE Column

Feetham's folly
Oh dear, what makes this chappie called Danny Feetham think that the world wants to know what he thinks about anything? We all know what the world thinks of him, and let it be said, his party got 8% from the disenchanted few who followed him out of the GSLP and from those who voted for him because he was calling for integration.

Yet, and it is a big yet, when the EU tried to make us part of the UK through what is known as regional selectivity, what did this 'integrationist' do?

He did NOT get hold of this opportunity in favour of integration, which he proclaimed to want during the election. 

If he claims to be a politico, he ought to act like one. And put integration first.

Don't ask the electorate again to vote for you on an integration ticket! Instead, take a ticket to political sanity, old chap.

By George!

On St George's Day (that was last Friday in case you did not notice) the Governor thanked us all for keeping our eyes open and asked that we stay on the alert as regards the terror threat.

However, those who are supposed to be on alert are going to be less alert, as the security level is dropped.

It appears that the security services have been working too hard!

Be that as it may, let's follow his advice and stay alert because, as he puts it, "we must assume that Gibraltar may still be a target."

What a carry on

Not that long ago, people who worked at HMS Rooke parked their cars there. Then, they have taken over Naval ground No.1 for parking purposes.

Out of the window goes the oft-repeated statement that the naval ground had to be kept ready at all times so that visiting sailors and others could stretch their legs.

Suddenly, it is not a sporting matter but a parking matter!

How about that?

And now, the MOD wants 100 car parks at the old USOC place (when the government starts its underground works), which would cause a squeeze out of those who are lucky enough to find a space there.

Would it not be a good gesture if the MOD, from now on, allowed local cars not belonging to their staff to also park in the naval ground - even if, quite rightly, they reserve the magic 100 spaces they themselves need?

Keeping our fingers crossed...

Este tio Hoon is a goon! Se cachondeo of all of us, nos dijo que he was arriving at 4.30pm in an RAF plane y llego en el 'Pan y Agua' airline.

Mientras no se cachondee con otras cosas tambien...anyway it has to be accepted que el hombre must have wanted to play it safe por eso del security.

Le perdono! Dice que he is our friend, aunque friend or not, esto del Gibraltar regiment se pone feo.

It looks like it, my dear. El Hoon may be sympathetic pero los que cortan el cod may not be so inclined.

Let's keep our fingers crossed, pero entre los cuts y las quejas sobre Chilton Court, algunos want to start a war!

Donde hay una guerra is at Gibtelecom. All to do with los payphones, tanto el union como el company say they want to talk, pero so far nadie habla.

It could be que uno quiere habla de una cosa y el otro quiere habla de otra, my dear Cloti.

Los talks que no estan active son los de Spain, lo dijo Hoon. Dijo que there are no talks at present over sovereignty, which does not mean que no van haber talks when we least expect them.

Habla hay que habla, I imaginate, pero con un triangular table to accommodate al Chief Ministron.

That's right, I heard him say that he remained ready to go pero it must be viable for the three parties.

Donde no hay un party es en el finance centre, estan todo holding their drinks to see what happens next, porque all is quiet on the UK front as regards taking Uropa to los courts. Hasta el Provasolo esta mudo!

El Chief Ministron se adelanto y dijo que a las cortes vamos, and that he would be astonished if the Foreign Office did not follow suit.

Como no tengamo cuidao nos cortan el traje a medida, pero let us hope que los de London will soon end their 'careful consideration' of the matter. Let's keep our fingers crossed over this one as well.

La Peach-melba, meanwhile, esta contentisima con los new buses, dice que son muy bueno and better than the old ones.

Claro que si, the only difference is that the previous ones cost us nothing Y el new bus service has already cost tres millones de panaeras, que se dice muy pronto.

Mind you, con los parking spaces that have been lost, you cannot park in Gibraltar from 9am. What we need now is a solution to the parking problem, which gets worse by the day.

El solution will come cuando hagan el underground car park el el navy ground, aunque if la Piazza can take that long, do you think que el underground will be ready before the third world war?

Eso que se lo pregunten a Tito. I'll keep my fingers crossed about this one as well. Ciao!

Adio whiteflower.

• Books

• Magazines

• Posters & Prints