AIR.L Regulatory News (AIR)

LEI: 213800JLR6YIRMSCUS98

27 August 2021

AIR PARTNER PLC 

("Air Partner", "Company" or "Group")

UPDATE ON CURRENT TRADING

Air Partner, the global aviation services group, continues to trade strongly despite the travel restrictions and the general uncertainty arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. For the first half of the financial year, 1 February to 31 July 2021, the Group is now expected to have delivered an underlying profit before tax of not less than £3.7 million.

We continue to see a strong recovery in our Private Jets division. The UK has exceeded pre-Covid levels over the summer months as we have welcomed a number of first-time private jet flyers, in addition to seeing increased demand from many of our existing customers. The US is also performing very well, with bookings in H1 being higher than before the pandemic due to the strong demand for leisure travel by high-net-worth individuals, which has offset the drop from business travel. However, activity in Europe remains limited.

Our JetCard product has performed particularly well in the first half of our financial year, with global bookings up 46% and the number of new members up 71% compared to the same period last year. The value of deposits by new JetCard members is also up 130% on the prior year.

We are experiencing good levels of trading in Group Charter, predominantly driven by government work, while Freight is still carrying out some residual Covid-related activity. The recovery in Safety & Security continues, with Baines Simmons and Redline seeing good demand from both new and existing customers. Recent business wins for Baines Simmons include two new contracts with an international airline and a ferry operator, while Redline has witnessed an uptick in demand for covert testing and training from airport operators in the UK as restrictions have lifted. Our latest asset purchase, trading as Air Partner CHS, is also making a positive contribution to the Group and is tracking ahead of management's expectations.

The Board remains encouraged by this performance and is optimistic about the prospects for both the Charter and Safety & Security divisions for the rest of the financial year. We are looking forward to updating the market further at the interim results at the end of September.

ENDS

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 comprises wildlife hazard management, aircraft registry services, consultancy services for airports and logistics operations, remote condition monitoring, baggage system testing, and Kenyon International Emergency Services, a world leader in emergency planning and incident response.

Air Partner has 18 locations across four continents, with its headquarters located alongside Gatwick airport in the UK. The group employs around 450 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.airpartnergroup.com).