Prestwick Airport made a £1.26million profit in its first year of state ownership, according to its accounts just lodged at Companies House.
But a loss was avoided only by allowing £1.8m of government grant to be credited against another £2m writedown on the airport's assets .
The accounts reveal that Infratil, the New Zealand company that sold the airport to the Scottish government for £1 in November 2013, took a £23.8m hit from the sale. The £4m of fixed airport assets, meanwhile, have been boosted on the balance sheet by a £5m government loan to take total assets to over £9m.
Last June the then deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon said there would be a £7m investment in repairs and improvement s to the airport "to ensure that it can continue to meet current financial obligations". But she warned MSPs that it could be a long time before they see a return on the investment. Then in October Ms Sturgeon announced it would be advancing £10m for investment in the airport in the next financial year.
At the end of the 2012-13 financial year, prior to Infratil putting the airport up for sale, Prestwick had run up liabilities of almost £16m. It recorded a £10m loss after writing down assets by almost £11m.
The latest accounts show turnover virtually static last year at £2.66m. Writing in the report, the directors say: "The underlying trading performance of the company continues to be relatively consistent."
Last week Labour challenged the government over a rejected £2m investment proposal for the airport from private company Landmark Aviation.
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