Global aviation services group Air Partner has issued a third COVID-19 update, confirming a very strong start to FY21. The unaudited accounts for Q1 show expected underlying pre-tax profit of £6 million. Prior to withdrawing its forecasts, the compnay had forecasted full year pre-tax profits of £6.5m.
“Against a challenging market backdrop, this is an excellent result and is testament to the group’s strategy to diversify its exposure across the aviation chartering industry,” said a company spokesperson.
April was a record month, predominantly driven by unusually high levels of activity in freight and group charter. The forward order book is encouraging for May and June, supported by demand for freight and group charter services. Visibility beyond this is currently limited.
Accordingly, management is controlling costs tightly in order to preserve cash. At the end of April, the Group had underlying cash in the bank of £13m.
