TIDMAIR
RNS Number : 8058P
Air Partner PLC
22 February 2021
LEI: 213800JLR6YIRMSCUS98
22 February 2021
AIR PARTNER PLC
("Air Partner" or "Group")
SHAREHOLDER UPDATE AND DIVIDEND POLICY
Air Partner, the global aviation services group, is today
publishing an update to shareholders, including details of its
dividend policy. This re-affirms the Board's expectation, as
previously stated in the Group's trading update of 20 January 2021,
to announce underlying profit before tax of no less than GBP11.5
million for the year ended 31 January 2021 (FY 2020: GBP4.2m).
Review of the financial year to 31 January 2021
Air Partner has enjoyed a strong year, driven by exceptional
levels of COVID-19 related activity in our Group Charter and
Freight divisions in H1, notably evacuations and the transportation
of PPE. Conversely, Private Jets and Safety & Security were
negatively impacted by government restrictions and airport closures
globally. Performance was mixed across geographies, with the US
being the standout performer.
During the first half of the year, the Group implemented cost
cutting initiatives and successfully completed a share placing,
raising gross proceeds of GBP7.5m. These actions strengthened the
business ahead of further COVID-19 uncertainty and lower trading
levels, as demand for evacuations and PPE flying significantly
decreased. However, after the half year we did see tentative signs
of recovery in Safety & Security and a rise in enquiries for
Private Jets, particularly in the US.
Asset purchase of CHS Engineering Ltd trading assets
At the end of 2020, we acquired the trading assets of CHS
Engineering Ltd (CHS) after the business went into administration.
CHS offered consultancy services for airports and logistics
operations, remote condition monitoring and baggage system testing,
and these services will now be incorporated into Air Partner's
Managed Services offering and trade as Air Partner CHS. This is a
small acquisition, where, by moving quickly, we have been able to
add to our customer offering. The business is not expected to be
profit enhancing until the second half of the year when airports
remobilise post lockdown.
Cash position
As at 31 January 2021, the Group has no debt and cash in the
bank of GBP9.9m. Excluding significant customer deposits and
JetCard cash, normalised cash was GBP8.3m. The Group has access to
a total debt facility of GBP14.5m, comprising of a GBP1.5m
overdraft and a GBP13.0m revolving credit facility (RCF), which
remain undrawn. The RCF is due to expire in February 2023.
Dividend
The Board has reviewed its dividend policy so as to ensure that
the Group has the ability to pay a sustainable and growing level of
dividends over time. Having announced the reinstatement of
dividends at the interim results in September with a payment of 0.8
pence per share, it is the Board's current intention to announce a
final dividend of 1.6 pence per share at the time of the full year
results, subject to audit. This makes a total of 2.4 pence per
share for the year as a whole.
In future, and looking beyond the extraordinary conditions
created by the pandemic, the Board will target dividend cover of
3.0 to 3.5 times earnings in a normal year, after adding back
non-cash related exceptional items such as amortisation of acquired
intangibles.
Current trading and outlook
The Group has made a profitable start to the year, although
clearly lower than the exceptional earlier months we experienced in
our last financial year as a result of pandemic related activity.
Encouragingly, the US business remains buoyant across all product
lines and performance in our global Group Charter and Freight
divisions continues to improve and track towards management's
expectations. However, Private Jets in the UK and Europe remains
impacted by travel restrictions and quarantine measures. In the
Safety & Security division, Security has started to show signs
of recovery as airports start to build towards increased passenger
numbers over the summer, but the pandemic continues to obscure
visibility for Safety.
The Board's current base-case expectation for FY22 is to deliver
profits in line with the financial year ended 31 January 2020,
despite the continued global restrictions on passenger
movements.
The global charter business has consistently been a volatile
industry, with low visibility, and we are seeing that now more than
ever. However, we have a strong balance sheet and are well placed
to benefit from the eventual re-opening of the travel industry
across both our Charter and Safety & Security divisions. We
have a strong portfolio of global aviation services, with diverse
exposure to sectors and geographies, and we expect to continue to
see a growing contribution from markets outside the UK and Europe,
particularly the US. A further update will be provided with our
full year results.
ENDS
Enquiries:
Air Partner 01293 844 788
Mark Briffa, Chief Executive
Officer
Joanne Estell, Chief Financial
Officer
TB Cardew (PR Advisor to Air
Partner) 020 7002 1080
Tom Allison 07789 998 020
Alycia MacAskill 07876 222 703
About Air Partner:
Founded in 1961, Air Partner is a global aviation services group
providing aircraft charter and aviation safety & security
solutions to industry, commerce, governments and private
individuals, across civil and military organisations. The Group has
two divisions: Air Partner Charter, comprising Group Charter,
Private Jets, Freight and Specialist Services; and Air Partner
Safety & Security (formerly Consulting & Training), which
comprises Baines Simmons, Redline Assured Security and Managed
Services.
Group Charter charters large airliners to move groups of any
size. Private Jets offers the Company's unique pre-paid JetCard
scheme and on-demand charter for up to 19 people. Freight charters
aircraft of every size to fly almost any cargo anywhere, at any
time. Specialist Services comprises Air Partner's other aviation
services that complement its Charter business: Remarketing, ACMI,
scheduled group travel, tour operations, air evacuation and flight
operations.
Baines Simmons offers aviation safety management and fatigue
risk management. Redline Assured Security delivers
government-standard security training, consultancy and solutions to
regulated, high value and high threat environments. Managed
Services offers wildlife hazard management and aircraft registry
services.
Air Partner has 16 locations across three continents, with its
headquarters located alongside Gatwick airport in the UK. The group
employs around 450 aviation professionals globally and operates
24/7. Air Partner is listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIR) and
is the only publicly listed air charter broker and aviation safety
& security consultancy. It is ISO 9001:2015 compliant for
commercial airline and private jet solutions worldwide.
More information is available on the company's website
(www.airpartner.com).
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END
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