Air Partner plc a global aviation services group, holds its Annual General Meeting today. At the meeting, Mark Briffa, Chief Executive Officer, will make the following statement:
“In our full year results, published on 11 June, we reported that the new financial year had started with a particularly strong performance in Freight and the USA, a flat performance in Commercial Jets, and a slow start for Private Jets UK. Additionally, our more pipeline orientated businesses in Consulting & Training and Remarketing have encouraging order books, which we expect to develop further during the year ahead. I am pleased to report that since that announcement we have seen increased strength in Commercial Jets.
We remain confident about the Group’s prospects for the remainder of the year. We have a strong net cash position and while we will incur a material one-off cost of £1.3m in the current year as a result of the recent accounting review, we are determined to realise value from that unexpected cost by learning from its findings, implementing changes and being a better and stronger business as a result.
In June we announced the opening of a new Air Partner office in Los Angeles, California, taking our local presence in the USA to four offices. This new office builds on the record performance from our US business over the last year where client numbers rose by 80%. The Los Angeles office will cover the west coast and offer our full suite of Charter services in Private Jet, Commercial and Freight, along with our own brand JetCard product. Los Angeles offers good potential for growth over the next five years as we steadily develop and invest in headcount ahead of customer growth.
We are actively recruiting Charter Brokers across all our products and services in a variety of locations as we steadily increase network headcount over the medium term, most recently expanding our local presence in the USA.
As we always state, the global charter business has consistently been, and will continue to be, a volatile industry. Against this backdrop we manage the business for the long term, with a very clear strategy of alignment to the needs of our global customer base. In line with our clear growth strategy, the Board continues to assess investment opportunities, both organic and acquisition, to enhance or extend the services and capabilities we offer our customers, which will ultimately strengthen and advance our business.”
Air Partner will provide a further update before the Group enters its close period on 28 August 2018.
yahoo
