12th Jun 2020 11:54
(Alliance News) - Air Partner PLC on Friday announced and completed a GBP7.5 million placing of 10.0 million shares at 75 pence each in order to repay debt and take advantage of opportunities arising from Covid-19.
Shares in Air Partner were up 0.7% at 76.65 pence in London in late morning trading.
In a trading update on Thursday last week, the Gatwick-based aviation services firm said it was expecting to report a GP7.5 million underlying pretax profit for the fourth months ended May 31, significantly ahead of its budget thanks to high activity levels in its freight and group charter divisions.
Moreover, it has normalised cash in the bank of GBP16.5 million and access to a GBP15.5 million total debt facility, including a GBP13.0 million revolving credit facility set to expire in February 2023. At the end of May, GBP11.5 million of its revolving credit facility had been drawn down.
"The directors have been encouraged by this strong trading performance, and believe the company is well placed to continue capturing new business opportunities resulting from the impact of Covid-19. Accordingly, the directors believe it is prudent to strengthen the company's balance sheet, enabling the repayment of the debt taken on at the time of the acquisition of Redline Worldwide Ltd in December 2019 and enabling the company to capitalise on new opportunities arising from Covid-19 that will help drive organic growth," Air Partner explained on Friday.
Canaccord Genuity and N+1 Singer acted as joint bookrunners for the placing.
Chair Ed Warner subscribed for 75,000 placing shares, taking his holding to 200,000 or 0.3% of shares. Chief Financial Officer Joanne Estell subscribed for 26,667 shares, giving her a holding of 38,020 shares or 0.1%.
Chief Executive Mark Briffa said: "Air Partner has had a record start to this financial year and today's oversubscribed Placing builds on this success. Thanks to the support of both existing and new investors, we will enter the second half of the year with significantly reduced debt and good working capital to invest in the organic growth opportunities we see. As an asset light business, with a strong financial position and a clear strategy, we are well placed to continue supporting the diverse aviation requirements of our governmental, corporate and high net worth customers."
By Anna Farley; [email protected]
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