Air Partner, the global aviation services group, has posted a gross profit of £27.7 million for the six months to 31 July 2020 – an increase of 61% compared to the same period in 2019. The company states that this increase was due to exceptional levels of trading from COVID-19 related work.
Air Partner’s underlying profit before tax of £10.5 million, a year-on-year increase of £7.5 million, driven by strong trading and swift cost saving measures in the early stages of pandemic. Statutory profit before tax was £8.9 million after reorganisation costs and amortisation of acquired intangibles
The company attributes its record results to its portfolio diversity that enabled the Group to support COVID-19 evacuations and PPE transportation. Air Partner also completed a successful share placing that raised gross proceeds of £7.5 million to pay down debt which was used to fund the Redline acquisition (acquired 12 December 2019) and to make further working capital available for organic growth opportunities
Although there was a difficult trading period for private jets, Air Partner reported excellent performance in group charter and its freight divisions.
Looking ahead, gross profit for the first two months of Q3 is down year-on-year, although Air Partners says that this has been offset by a reduced cost base and governmental support across various markets. Private Jet enquiries continue to increase from the low levels seen in Q2, and that COVID-19 related activity in group charter and freight has now stabilised.
“This has been the busiest time we have ever encountered as a business, and this is reflected in our record half year trading performance,” says Mark Briffa, CEO of Air Partner. “We have always prided ourselves on our ability to provide quick, reliable and effective support to our customers in times of crisis, and we are pleased that we could play an important role during this very challenging time, particularly with regards to emergency evacuations and PPE flying. Group Charter and Freight have been the standout performers, while other areas, such as Private Jets and some parts of Safety & Security, have been severely impacted by the pandemic, although activity levels in our core business are gradually starting to return. This mixed performance has served to reinforce the importance and value of our diversification strategy, which ensures that we are not reliant on any one revenue stream.”
Briffa adds: “While there is undoubtedly much uncertainty ahead for us all, and our visibility for H2 remains unsurprisingly limited, the Board is confident that the business is well placed to weather the ongoing economic storm and take advantage of any suitable opportunities that arise.”
