Revenues at Tanya Airey’s Sunway Travel last year plummeted by 70% or €23.1 million due to the Covid-19 shutdown of the travel industry for much of 2020.
New accounts filed by the Dublin-based Sunway Travel Ltd show that the company recorded a pre-tax loss of €360,945 in the 12 months to the end of October last.
This follows a pre-tax profit of €254,523 in the prior year.
The company recorded revenues of €33.12 million in the 12 months to the end of October 2019 and revenues had plunged to €9.94 million for the year to the end of October last due to Covid-19.
The bulk of those revenues would have been generated during the pre-Covid-19 months of November 2019 through to the end of February 2020.
The losses would have been much higher but for directors dramatically cutting their pay by 74.5% from €401,685 tin 2019 to €102,260 last year.
Ms Airey - who has been at the helm since 1998 - sits on the board with two other directors, Philip Airey and Brian McGovern.
The company’s profit and loss account also benefited from unspecified 'other operating income' of €462,873 last year.
Wage subsidy scheme
Figures published by the Revenue Commissioners shows that Sunway Travel has participated in the Government Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Schemes as have businesses across the travel industry.
A note attached to the accounts states that in response to Covid-19, the directors "have made decisions to protect the company’s business".
The note states that the directors are confident that based on these decisions and the company’s underlying financial position that there is no material uncertainty concerning the company’s ability to meet its liabilities as they fall due.
The company is 55 years in business and has over 70 destinations worldwide. Ms Airey’s grandfather set up the business in 1966 and Ms Airey started working in the business herself from the age of 18.
Numbers employed by the company reduced from 59 to 50 as staff costs declined by 39 per cent from €2.4 million to €1.46 million.
A spokeswoman for the company today declined to comment.
