24th Sep 2015 09:13
LONDON (Alliance News) - Aviation services company Air Partner PLC on Thursday posted higher pretax profit and revenue for the first half, as a good performance in the UK offset mixed trading in Europe and subdued activity in the US.
The company said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of July was up to GBP1.9 million from GBP1.1 million a year earlier, as revenue increased to GBP22.2 million from GBP18.8 million and the gross value of transactions conducted in the half rose to GBP110.2 million from GBP93.1 million.
The group said its commercial jets business had a strong half, particularly in the UK and Europe, though its business in the US was hit by lower activity from a key customer. Its private jets business performed well, though European trading was sluggish and the US came in below expectations.
JetCard, the company's private jet card programme, also performed well, with utilisation up 22% with a record number of cards in issue.
The company said it will hike its interim dividend after the robust half, up to 7.33 pence per share from 6.66p.
Trading for the full year is in line with expectations, Air Partner said, with positive momentum in its UK commercial jets business and its European tour operations to continue through the year, though it said it will face challenges from the subdued US market and from the weak private jets market in Europe.
"Our first half performance is a great testament to all of those who work at Air Partner and shows that by putting customers at the heart of our business we can differentiate ourselves from our competition and deliver good trading momentum," said Chief Executive Mark Briffa.
Shares in Air Partner were up 0.1% to 431.99 pence on Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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