Air Partner Plc: AGM Statement - BBGA Association Limited

15 July 2020
AIR PARTNER PLC
(“Air Partner”, “Company” or “Group”)
AGM STATEMENT

Air Partner plc, the global aviation services group, holds its Annual General Meeting today. At the meeting, Ed Warner, Chair, will make the following statement:

“I am pleased to be able to report that Air Partner took early and decisive action during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring the Group was well positioned to support our global customers’ emergency aviation needs. As a result, we enjoyed a very strong first five months of the financial year to 30 June 2020, trading significantly ahead of budget with unaudited management accounts showing an expected underlying profit before tax of at least £10.0m. At the end of June, the Group had normalised cash in the bank of £16.0m, excluding significant customer deposits and JetCard cash. The Group also has access to a total debt facility of £14.5m, comprising a £13.0m revolving credit facility (RCF) and a £1.5m overdraft. As at today’s date, £3.0m of the RCF is utilised. The RCF is due to expire in February 2023. I continue to be extremely impressed by our people worldwide and my thanks go to them for their ongoing hard work during this busy and challenging time.

Our performance to 30 June was predominantly driven by very high levels of COVID-19 related activity in our Group Charter and Freight divisions, including repatriations, corporate shuttles and emergency PPE flying. Redline, our security business which we acquired last December, has also enhanced our ability to fulfil our customers’ diverse requirements during the crisis and offer them holistic solutions. As we enter the second half of our financial year, we are now seeing an adjustment in our business mix as both Private Jets and Safety & Security start to revert to pre-pandemic levels.

Building on our strong start to the year, on 12 June we announced the successful completion of the Placing of new Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company, raising gross proceeds of £7.5m from both existing and new shareholders, which has enabled the Group to enter the second half of the year with significantly reduced debt and good working capital to invest in organic growth opportunities. I would like to welcome our new investors and thank existing ones for their ongoing support.

In line with our ambition to invest in organic growth opportunities, I am pleased to report that today we have made a separate announcement regarding Air Partner’s entry into the Australian market through its security business Redline to develop and deliver a Security Management System for ISS Australia and New Zealand (ISS). The system will be the first of its kind in Australia, enhancing ISS’s security services across its aviation and transport activities.

To date, the Group’s trading in July has been more normalised and we have seen fewer emergency freight flights and less repatriation work. However, as previously reported, we are encouraged by the level of enquiries we are receiving from our customers returning to our Private Jet and Safety & Security products and we are anticipating a profitable month.

While we are very pleased with our performance to date in the current financial year, visibility for the second half remains limited, with economic and regulatory uncertainty from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In line with this, we have undertaken a number of cost saving initiatives to reduce our cost base to reflect the likely future demand patterns for our aviation services.

Air Partner moved quickly to keep shareholders abreast of our performance during the extraordinary start to the year. While we are aware that the pandemic is not over, and that global economic and social risks and repercussions remain, the immediate response to fight the crisis has reached a more normalised stage for now. Accordingly, our monthly shareholder updates will halt and the Group will return to providing trading
updates according to usual business practice. In line with this, the Board expects to provide a trading update on performance and a confirmation of our dividend policy going forward with our half year results, which we expect to release in September.”

Enquiries:
Air Partner	01293 844788
Mark Briffa, CEO
Joanne Estell, CFO

TB Cardew (Financial PR advisor to Air Partner)	020 7930 0777
Tom Allison	07789 998 020
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 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 offers wildlife hazard management and aircraft registry services.

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).

Paul Cremer

My name is Paul Cremer, and this marks my 42nd year working within the business and general aviation industry. Over this time, I’ve had the privilege of overseeing a diverse array of sector activities, ranging from aircraft charter and management to air ambulance services, ground operations, air traffic control, airport management, technology implementation, and the outsourcing services I currently manage.

In my role focused on delivering advisory, technology, and outsourcing services to aviation customers, I handle a wide spectrum of responsibilities. This includes overseeing International Trip Support, Operations Control Centre Services (OCC), Continuing Airworthiness Management Service (CAMO), Airworthiness Reviews, ARC Services, Aircraft Delivery and Re-delivery Support Services, Maintenance Coordination Services including AOG, Tech Ops (Maintenance Control Centre), and managing myairops software products. As the Head of Aviation Delivery, I lead the customer-facing delivery of Technology & Outsourcing products and services for the market, drawing upon a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and industry connections within Gama Aviation’s Technology and Outsourcing Strategic Business Unit.

My journey into Business and General Aviation began during my teenage years while still in school. I was fortunate enough to be welcomed into the industry, starting at a flying club, and later working at the Air Traffic Services Unit at Blackbushe Airport. There, I maintained the ATC Movement Logs in the Control Tower during weekends, solidifying my passion for aviation. Upon completing my schooling, I seized opportunities at Fairoaks Airport, where I began as Ground Crew while pursuing my Aerodrome Flight Information Service Officer’s license. Advancements in my career led me to the role of Air Traffic Services Manager.

Since joining Gama Aviation in 1996, I’ve held various positions, including Operations Manager (Post Holder), Operations & Commercial Manager, Commercial Manager, Operations Delivery Manager, Head of Business Aviation Delivery, and currently, Head of Aviation Delivery. This role encompasses Gama Aviation Group’s Gama Aviation, myairops, and FlyerTech companies.

In 2023, I was honoured to be invited to serve as the Chair of the Operations Working Group for the British Business & General Aviation Association. This opportunity allows me to contribute to industry initiatives within BBGA’s membership of nearly 200 industry companies, focusing on challenges such as regulatory compliance, Air Services Agreements, technological advancements, workforce development, operational matters, and sustainability.

Marc Bailey

Marc Bailey has spent his entire career in aviation and has worked in most areas of Aviation Services with scheduled airlines, MRO’s, military contract support and latterly with associations, government, and its agencies.

Marc represents your position in Europe (even post Brexit) – as President of ECOGAS (European Council of General Aviation Support) which maintains a voice with EASA. All the major member states are represented on the ECOGAS board. With EASA restructuring its meetings with industry, ECOGAS is now well positioned to represent our position in all areas following industry partnerships with the European Independent Maintenance Group and with ARPAS the new drone and autonomous association.

Marc is chair of the UKASF (United Kingdom Airworthiness Strategic Forum) as part of an initiative to develop Aviation Services across all aviation activities. The UKASF pulls together airlines, MROs, Rotary, Drones, and commercial GA bodies to work with CAA and DfT. The objective is for industry to take the lead to drive strategic issues to benefit all parties. We are well positioned after four years to continue our good work and with the re-established role of Chief Surveyor in the CAA we have a good focal point to do this.

Marc chairs the CAA Finance and Services Forum which allows industry in the UK to discuss in the financial plans for the CAA and the value for money delivered by those funds paid by industry. This is a new and valuable new platform for all parties.

Under recent developments Marc has formed an alliance with, ARPAS, AOPA, BHA and BBGA so that we can strengthen our voice under a joint ‘GA 4 Biz’ banner. This alliance is working to do everything possible to represent the industry’s business interests with UK government and to help realise the Government’s desire to make UK General Aviation a Global Leader in a post Brexit environment. GA4Biz – GA4Biz

The next Generation initiatives with industry and government have continued to develop with the retention platform now evolving into the “Aviation Skills Recruitment Platform”. The platform now not only offers a vehicle for those offering and seeking posts in aviation, it also provides pathways with its TalentView portion seeking to provide pathways for new entrants into our sector. The recruitment platform is being further developed to include training opportunities across a wide range of providers, from government agencies through academic bodies. Getting our next generation activities right in the UK over the next couple of years is our single most important issue which we in aviation must grab with both hands. Marc is playing a central role to help develop many of these channels.

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