The former chief executive at Malta International Airport is suing the company for his abrupt removal last January.
Markus Klaushoffer is claiming unfair dismissal and the case is now before the industrial tribunal.
The information was provided by MIA directors yesterday during the annual general meeting, in which shareholders approved the financial statements and dividend for 2014.
Directors gave no reason why Mr Klaushoffer’s job was terminated, and when asked to comment on the matter after the AGM ended, board chairman Nikolaus Gretzmacher said he had “nothing to add”.
It was company secretary Louis Degabriele who broke the news, reading from a prepared reply in which he addressed some 40 questions submitted by some shareholders before the AGM.
Several questions concerned the termination of Mr Klaushoffer’s employment, including whether he was offered a golden handshake.
Dr Degabriele would only say that the former CEO has claimed unfair dismissal and the company would be contesting it in the industrial tribunal.
“This claim has been examined, and the directors do not consider the claim to be well-founded,” he said.
“It is the intention of the company to contest and challenge the claim... In any event, the directors do not consider the claim to be of a material nature from a financial perspective and accordingly do not expect to make any provision in the financial statements of the company.”
This claim has been examined and the directors do not consider it to be well-founded
Questions put to the management also concerned the divestment of shares in MIA by Vienna Airport, a principal shareholder, and negotiations for the sale that took place last year.
Dr Degabriele said that this was a shareholder matter and the directors and MIA did not have the remit to enter into what shareholders did with their stake in the company. But in a statement released yesterday afternoon, Vienna Airport insisted it had no plans “whatsoever to sell its strategic stake in MIA”.
Julian Jaeger, a member of the Vienna Airport management board and a former CEO at MIA, said the company was “very proud” of its investment in the Maltese airport.
He confirmed Vienna Airport had had talks in the past with potential partners concerning possible changes in the ownership structure of MIA.
“However, Vienna Airport decided not to sell any of its shares... Accordingly, all discussions with potential partners were terminated in January 2015, a fact which was also conveyed to the Maltese government,” Mr Jaeger said.
He had said previously that “there were no actual plans to sell [Vienna Airport’s] stake in Malta” – only “considerations”.
He also dismissed rumours that Vienna was considering replacing the current CEO, Alan Borg, who was appointed after Mr Klaushoffer’s departure.
Mr Borg is the first Maltese CEO since MIA’s privatisation.
“Under the leadership of Alan Borg, the company [MIA] has developed outstandingly, and for this reason we see no need to make changes in the management or ownership structure,” Mr Jaeger said.
Questions were also raised over whether price sensitive information relating to MIA’s performance had been made available in an unauthorised manner to some shareholders and not others.
When asked by a representative of small shareholders whether Air Malta’s problems could impact MIA, Mr Borg said regular meetings were being held with the national carrier.
“If things did not improve at Air Malta there would be a short-term impact, but I am confident this can be overcome over the medium to long term,” Mr Borg said.
Shareholders approved the financial statements and dividend after this point.