PARC Group, the personnel recruitment company purchased from Aer Lingus in a management buy-out in 1995, is continuing to record strong growth this year, according to Mr David Hanley, group managing director.

Commenting on the first year's result under the MBO team which showed a pre-tax profit of £1.03 million in the year ended March 31st 1996, he said Parc is "trading very well". While not making any forecast, Mr Hanley said the profits for this year should "exceed last year's".

Parc, which operates from Dublin headquarters, contracts out some 1,400 people - 50 per cent in aviation and 50 per cent in engineering related activities - to companies worldwide. It operates from seven offices and employs 80 people directly.

The bulk of its business is outside the State and Mr Hanley said there was a strong focus in Europe and the Far East. It operates in 35 countries.

Parc was purchased for £11.3 million, with Mercury Asset Management taking a 49 per cent stake and Parc employees 51 per cent. The latest figures, published by Private Research, show equity of £94,000 and share premium of £907,485. There was a medium-term loan of £4.37 million, giving the company a high debt equity ratio of four to one, reflecting the initial high leverage of an MBO.

Some £3.4 million of the loan however, is in unsecured loan stock put up by Mercury.

After a high tax rate of 46 per cent, Parc's net profit last year amounted to £559,169. All of this was put into reserves. There is a deficit of £1.6 million in shareholders' funds. However, all of this is due to a deficit of £3.17 million in reserves, which arose from good-will.

Parc generated sales of £46.1 million last year. It had a loss of £118,086 on disposals. Reflecting the high borrowings, interest costs amounted to £1.04 million.

Parc was founded in 1975 to provide recruitment and manpower leasing of aviation, medical and engineering staff around the world.