TIDMAIR
RNS Number : 8906L
Air Partner PLC
05 May 2020
LEI: 213800JLR6YIRMSCUS98
5 May 2020
AIR PARTNER PLC
("Air Partner", "Company" or "Group")
SHAREHOLDER UPDATE
Air Partner, the global aviation services group, is providing an
update on initial trading in the first quarter of the financial
year beginning 1 February 2020. This is the third update released
during the COVID-19 pandemic and we anticipate communicating to
shareholders approximately every four to six weeks during the
crisis.
Current trading overview
The Group has had a strong start to the financial year, with the
unaudited accounts for February, March and April showing expected
underlying profit before tax of GBP6m. April was a record month,
predominantly driven by unusually high levels of activity in
Freight and Group Charter. However, as expected, activity in
Private Jets and Safety & Security remains notably lower than
in previous years, although Redline has recently secured two new
security contract wins.
While the forward order book is encouraging as we head into May
and June with demand for Freight and Group Charter services
remaining high, visibility beyond this is currently limited.
Group Charter
Group Charter has continued to carry out significant
repatriation and evacuation work related to the COVID-19 pandemic,
flying people back to their home countries from around the world.
In addition, the team is involved in flying agricultural workers
into the UK from elsewhere in Europe, and has seen increased demand
for corporate shuttles from UK and US customers that value their
employees travelling in a more controlled environment at this
time.
Private Jets
Activity in Private Jets remains very weak, reflecting wider
aviation trends as people follow government advice globally against
non-essential travel. However, we anticipate some improvement when
international airways start to re-open, as some executives and high
net worth individuals seek to travel independently and from less
busy airports.
Freight
We continue to see high demand for our Freight services. Our
team was extremely busy in April, notably flying emergency
shipments of protective personal equipment (PPE) on behalf of a
number of customers, and this is set to continue into May.
Safety & Security
Our activities in Safety have been adversely impacted by
COVID-19, as government restrictions have led to a significant drop
in aviation industry activities, resulting in a temporary reduction
in demand for training, consulting and quality assurance from our
airline and airport customers.
However, Redline recently won a five-year contract with
international facilities management company OCS Group UK (OCS) to
support Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. Redline will be
OCS's internal quality assurance provider, and will also hold
responsibility for the security training of all OCS security
officers deployed at every court and tribunal in the UK to ensure
they meet Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) standards for
security searching and screening. In addition, Redline has also won
a quality assurance contract with Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur, which
becomes the sixth airport in France to use its unique quality
assurance testing programme.
Cost management and cash conservation
While we have enjoyed a strong first quarter, we currently have
limited visibility beyond the next couple of months. However, we
are confident that our teams will maximise any opportunities that
arise, as has been the case so far this year, and we continue to
manage the business for the long term and in the best interests of
all stakeholders. Accordingly, we are managing costs tightly across
the Group to preserve cash and maintain our working capital.
At the end of April, the Group has normalised cash in the bank
of GBP13m, excluding significant customer deposits and JetCard
cash. The Group has access to a total debt facility of GBP14.5m,
comprising of a GBP1.5m overdraft and a GBP13m revolving credit
facility (RCF), which is drawn down by GBP11.5m as at 1 May 2020.
The RCF is due to expire in February 2023.
A further update will be provided with our full year results
later this month.
ENDS
Enquiries:
TB Cardew (Financial PR
advisor) 020 7930 0777
Tom Allison 07789 998 020
Alycia MacAskill 07876 222 703
Joe McGregor 07766 231 520
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 defence organisations. The Group has
two divisions: Air Partner Charter, comprising Group Charter
(formerly Commercial Jets), Private Jets, Freight and Remarketing;
and Air Partner Safety & Security (formerly Consulting &
Training), which comprises Baines Simmons and Redline Assured
Security.
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. Air Partner Remarketing provides comprehensive remarketing
programmes for all types of commercial and corporate aircraft to a
wide range of international customers.
Baines Simmons offers Aviation Safety Management, Fatigue Risk
Management, Air Traffic Services, Wildlife Hazard Management and
Aircraft Registry Services. Redline Assured Security delivers
government-standard security training and solutions.
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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