Monarch Holdings is back in the black. The airline, tour group and MRO which is controlled by Switzerland's Mantegazza family, expects to post a pre-tax profit in the “mid-teens” for 2013 with turnover up 16% for the year to end of October 2013.
The group has had a rough time of it of late and these results mark a significant turnaround form the £70m pre-tax loss in 2011.
In a pre-close statement published on Wednesday, Monarch said all parts of its business, which also includes an aircraft engineering division, were back in profit after a two-year programme to remove £52m of costs. A third of the cost savings came from improving fuel efficiency.
Monarch Airlines now aims to conclude an order for 60 aircraft by the end of February 2014 and is currently in talks with both Boeing and Airbus about 737 and A320 aircraft respectively for deliveries pre 2024. A Bombardier C-Series order is a definite and is in addition to the 737 or A320 aircraft sought.