AIR.L Regulatory News (AIR)

2 Aug 2006 07:01

Air Partner PLC02 August 2006 Air Partner PLC ("Air Partner" or "the Group") Pre-Close Trading Update for the 12 months to 31 July 2006 Air Partner is the world's leading air charter broker, providing aircraftcharter to industry, commerce, Governments and individuals worldwide. Prior to entering a close period ahead of its preliminary results, Air Partneris pleased to announce that trading for the twelve months ended 31 July 2006 hasbeen ahead of expectations. At the time of the interim results forward bookingswere 14% ahead of the comparative period and the board is pleased to report thatthis trading trend continued throughout the third quarter and noticeablyaccelerated in the fourth quarter of the financial year. Accordingly, profitbefore tax is expected to be approximately 15% ahead of the 2005 full yearresults (2005 PBT/IFRS-adjusted: £4.4 million). Over the past five years, Air Partner has sought to diversify its income inorder to reduce earnings volatility and improve forward visibility, and while itis now rare that all components of the Group's portfolio perform at once, in thesecond half of the financial year Air Partner traded well across all of itsdivisions and territories. The Executive Jet division enjoyed a particularlybuoyant second half, boosted by strong M&A and fund raising activity acrossinternational stock markets. In addition, the Executive Jet division's newretail business saw unexpectedly large numbers of high net worth individuals ("HNWI") chartering jets for the World Cup. Outside of this, the CommercialAircraft division enjoyed a busy period driven by significant work from the manyGovernment clients it serves. The World Cup related activity provides further evidence and encouragement tosupport the Group's new initiative to increase its share in the growing "jet-for-leisure" market, while maintaining its dominant position in theGovernment and corporate sectors of air charter. As part of this new strategyAir Partner launched a new HNWI JetCard (www.thejetcard.co.uk) on 30th July; theJetCard offers guaranteed availability on best quality aircraft, at competitiveand fixed prices; however, unlike rival programmes, there are no additional postflight charges for fuel, airport charges, or other extras, and flight hoursnever expire. To cement the warranty, cardholders are not tied to a fixed termcontract and may withdraw from the programme at any time, for any reason andreceive a full refund of unused funds. In the closing month of the financial year, due to the Lebanese crisis, theGroup executed extremely high levels of evacuation work across diverse long haulroutes around the world, for both multinational businesses and Governments.Whilst this is not financially significant, the board is proud of theprofessionalism and commitment shown by its team working for humanitarian reliefunder extreme conditions. The Group's preliminary results will be announced on Wednesday 11th October2006. A presentation of the results will be held at 9:30am at The London StockExchange, 10 Paternoster Square, London, EC4M 7LS. For information on thepresentation please contact Tom Allison on T. 020 7936 9790 or emailtallison@luxtal.com 2nd August 2006 Notes to editors: please ensure "Air Partner" is written in its correctsingular form, not in the plural. ENQUIRIES: Luxtal Tel: 0207 936 9790 Tom Allison Tel: 0778 999 8020Alex Money This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange