11th May 2021 11:52
(Alliance News) - Air Partner PLC on Tuesday announced a record year of trading, despite severe disruption in the aviation industry as demand for charter flights and freight services increased.
Shares in Air Partner were up 10% at 85.97 pence in London in late morning trading.
Pretax profit at the Gatwick-based aviation services firm ballooned to GBP8.4 million for the year ended January 31, up from GBP936,000 in 2020. Full-year revenue grew 6.7% year-on-year to GBP71.2 million from GBP66.7 million.
The company will pay a final dividend of 1.6p a share. This results in a total dividend payment for the 2021 financial year of 2.4p per share, up 33% from the 2020 payout of 1.8p per share.
Despite the significant impact of the pandemic on the industry, Air Partner said it had benefitted from a "diverse portfolio of aviation services". Group charter services performed particularly well, as governments and companies paid for evacuation flights. Freight sales, driven by personal protecting equipment deliveries and automotive supply chain disruption, also helped bolster growth.
Air Partner reported a strong start to the current financial year with first-quarter performance ahead of expectations, and said second-quarter trading will be better than its original forecast.
Chief Executive Mark Briffa commented: "Last year was a record year for Air Partner, as our proven ability to partner with governments and global corporations enabled the group to play a vital role in evacuations, repatriations and the provision of PPE in the face of the global pandemic.
"I was also pleased to see our diversification strategy has come to the fore, as we provided customers with solutions that combined our expertise in charter and safety and security in Asia, America and Europe.
"Looking ahead, I am excited about the opening up of the aviation sector and believe our private jets and safety and security offerings are especially well placed to benefit from the re-opening of skies and airports."
By Will Paige; [email protected]
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