Air Partner Share Discussion Threads

[dontay] 28/6/2017 13:22

AGM STATEMENTAir Partner plc ('Air Partner' or 'Group'), the global aviation services group, holds its Annual General Meeting today. At the meeting, Mark Briffa, Chief Executive Officer, will make the following statement:"At the time of our full year results in April, we reported that trading at the start of the new financial year had commenced in line with the Board's expectations. I am pleased to report that trading has continued at similar levels, and given our forward pipeline of work and our strong net cash position, we remain optimistic about the Group's prospects for the remainder of the financial year.We continue to assess investment opportunities, both organic and acquisitions, which will further add to or enhance the services and capabilities we can provide to our clients across the world.Air Partner will provide a further trading update before the Group enters its close period on 28 August.Further to our previous announcements, our Chairman Richard Everitt will stand down at the conclusion of the AGM after 12 years as a non-executive director and 5 years as Chairman. On behalf of the Board and everyone at Air Partner, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Richard for his valuable contribution to the Group. His experience and wise counsel have been a fantastic support and we all wish him well for the future. Subject to shareholder approval at the AGM, we look forward to welcoming Peter Saunders as our new Chairman. We will make a further announcement about this later today."

[speedsgh] 14/6/2017 08:21

Oman to update air worthiness rules of RAFO fleet with Air Partner -

Air Partner's aviation safety consultancy company Baines Simmons has been awarded a contract to provide aviation safety consultancy services to the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO).

The objective of the programme is to improve and safeguard the airworthiness of all RAFO aircraft for years to come by developing a new Continuing Airworthiness ruleset for RAFO. RAFO previously used a military regulatory system based on UK legacy requirements, but this will be updated to operate in line with international modern military standards.

The programme is particularly pertinent following the arrival of new fleets of Typhoon and Hawk 200 aircraft in Oman.

The Baines Simmons consultancy and training programme is based on the newly completed European Military Airworthiness Requirements (EMARs), as well as their source European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations.

Mark Briffa, Group CEO of Air Partner said: “When we acquired Baines Simmons in 2015, we knew its international role as a trusted advisor to more than 750 aviation organisations and more than 40 aviation authorities would fit well with Air Partner’s international blue chip client base. Since the acquisition, Baines Simmons has secured several new contracts, including a 10-year contract with the Isle of Man, and I am delighted that we are now working with the Royal Air Force of Oman too. We look forward to building what I hope will be the start of a long-term relationship.”

[dozey3] 13/6/2017 11:45

AIR has always been like this, too big a spread to sensibly trade, but always peeps trying hence volatile.

[mrx001] 13/6/2017 11:01

Very quiet on here. Seems like some people buying but share price still decling, must be a large seller in the background.

[topvest] 01/6/2017 14:08

Sold half of mine today. Didn't quite catch the top. Anyway, happy to keep the rest but taking a few profits ahead of the election. The rest are now effectively zero cost shares for me which is nice.

[the monkster] 01/6/2017 08:19

yes, read the same article. must dig it out as there were a few others , treatt etc

[tiltedtrader] 31/5/2017 23:40

Got into this after reading that Lord Lee owns some shares. Nicely coincided with this rise too

[dozey3] 31/5/2017 18:31

What I've always believed is it's too easy to double-post on here.

[dozey3] 31/5/2017 17:57

What I've always believed. If you are a high flier, why fly with the disorganised riff raff such as British Airways, IAG or the latest manifestation, let alone endure the crush getting through to the first-class lounge only to find your aircraft is switched off and nobody can find the power plug. Just let AIR take the strain. That's what I do - at least in my dreams.

[technocat] 31/5/2017 16:56

Good spot Jimmy, There is bound to be a longer term benefit from this.

TC

[robsy2] 31/5/2017 16:10

Of course !that explains the rise. Thanks for sharing.
R2

[jimmywilson612] 31/5/2017 15:54

Assume some decent rise off the back of BA flights:

Air Partner, the global aviation services group, has swung into action to support its clients through the chaos that impacted commercial flights during one of the busiest weekends of the UK holiday calendar, with people wishing to take advantage of the bank holiday and half term get away period.

Julia Timms, Air Partner’s Group Marketing Director, commented: “Enquiries for Air Partner’s private jet services have been up 76% compared to the same bank holiday weekend last year.”

“Colleagues have worked over the weekend to support new enquiries and our existing JetCard clients – to help get them to their destinations at the last minute.”

“While private jets supply has held up - landing and take-off slots into popular and restricted destinations, such as Ibiza - have become hard to come by as the number of people turning to private jets increased.”

“The most popular destination enquires have been for Barcelona, Lisbon, Nice, Palma and Faro - often for family holidays.”

“Many families had planned to go abroad for the bank holiday or half term holiday, and traditionally there are very few last minute seats available at this time of year – so some people have been turning to private aviation as an alternative.”

"One client and his wife were separated from their two young daughters and nanny, when their original flight from London to France was cancelled. Air Partner arranged a charter as quickly as possible to reunite the family."

“However, we’ve also seen some clients booking ahead for business trips next week, as they’re expecting the chaos to linger for a few days. One FTSE 100 CEO was unable to get from Geneva to Heathrow today on a commercial service, so called on us to charter an aircraft to Farnborough airport so that he could attend critical meetings."

“Clients flew out of the typical private airports – with Biggin Hill and Farnborough the most popular amongst our clients.”

[ygor706] 27/4/2017 18:05

The number of people flying around in planes ( currently c1million at any one time worldwide) is scheduled to double by 2030. This leaves AIR with plenty of scope to promote its services and I don't see popstars, footballers or diplomats downgrading there requirements any time soon. I added yesterday and am happy to hold.

[robsy2] 27/4/2017 17:17

Good posts fellas ,so thanks for sharing.I like this company , it's been kind to me.
It is very specialised and just sounds well run.I agree with Dozey in that i'm not so sure this is so cyclical. They are focussed on a top end niche business which may be beyond cyclical , indeed renting jets is the avancar of aircraft travel so it's top end but cost effective , broking is all about reputation and presence and they have both . They are closing the circle by buying good quality complimentary busineses. I know this is all very rhetorical but this looks like an interesting niche company that has the energy and drive to keep performing.I'm staying in.
R2

[dozey3] 27/4/2017 16:30

High net worth individuals are never likely to revert to scheduled flights, and congestion and safety at all major airports are not likely to go away any time soon. AIR is well funded, customer orientated and afik enjoys a good reputation, helped by recent diversification. Just tuck away imo with these spreads.

[masurenguy] 27/4/2017 16:15

A quick review by Paul Scott.

Air Partner
Share price: 112.3p (down 4.9% today)
No. shares: 52.2m
Market cap: £58.6m

Preliminary results - for the year ended 31 Jan 2017.

Just re-reading my notes from 15 months ago, when I concluded that this share looked quite interesting, with a big dividend yield, and a StockRank of 99 at the time. The share price was 388p then, so adjusting for the 1 for 5 share split in Jan 2017, that's 77.6p in new money. Therefore we've seen a 45% share price rise in 15 months - not bad. Although we're in a roaring bull market, most things are going up.

The main activity of this company is aircraft broking, e.g. private jets for sports teams, HNW individuals, business people, etc. This generates 90% of the profit. There is another, consultancy division, which looks early stage - a distraction maybe? The highlights section shows a good increase in profitability. This looks to have come mainly from improved margins, rather than top line growth:

Underlying EPS of 6.5p seems to be below consensus expectations of c.7.5p. I've done some digging, and the difference is down to a one-off higher tax charge in 2017/17. Stripping out that one-off impact, the results are actually in line with expectations. So that's fine.

Dividends are a particular feature here - the company pays out most of its earnings in divis. The 5.2p divis for 2016/17 represent a fairly attractive yield of 4.6%.

Balance sheet - this looks unusual, since the company receives substantial cash deposits up-front from its JetCard scheme. This is important, because of the £19.8m cash, £15.9m is actually money that belongs to customers using the JetCard. Since the company also says in the narrative that it intends moving this cash into segregated accounts, to reassure customers, then it's essential to ignore the JetCard cash when valuing the shares. Therefore, I would adjust the balance sheet by removing £15.9m cash. The other side of the double entry is to reduce deferred income by £15.9m too. So basically, the enterprise value figure will be wrong, and needs to be manually adjusted in this way. Overall though, the balance sheet looks OK to me.

Outlook - sounds alright, but not exciting; Trading has commenced in line with the Board's expectations and this, together with the pipeline of work for the next quarter, means that we begin the 2017/2018 financial year with a degree of optimism

Valuation - forecasts for the new financial year are unchanged at £6.4m normalised profit before tax. Although a somewhat higher tax charge is expected this year too, so EPS has been trimmed from 8.7p to 8.1p by one broker today. That gives a PER of 13.9, which looks about right to me.

My opinion - it looks OK. We have to remember that this sector is very cyclical, so both profits and share price are clobbered when the economy turns down. For that reason, it's the sort of thing to ditch as soon as storm clouds are seen on the economic horizon. In the meantime though, I can see the attraction of a nice yield, and what appears to be a well-run business. I like the chatty narrative with today's results too - the company seems focused on delivering customer service, and repeat business, which seems very sensible. Overall then, it looks quite a nice company, probably fairly priced.

[masurenguy] 27/4/2017 08:05

Positive set of results plus 7.2% increase in the dividend

RNS Number : 4770D
Air Partner PLC
27 April 2017

Preliminary results for the year ended 31 January 2017

Air Partner delivers strong full-year profits and good strategic progress.

Financial highlights:

-- Underlying PBT of £5.1m, an increase of 17.2%
-- Gross margin up 180bps to 14.7% (12.9%)
-- Underlying EPS of 6.5p, an increase of 10.2%
-- Statutory PBT rose by 38.6% to £4.3m after £0.7m of other items
-- Including JetCard, total cash balances of £19.8m (£19.8m)
-- Excluding JetCard, Group cash balances of £3.9m (£3.0m). Net cash of £1.0m (net debt of £0.5m)
-- Proposed final dividend of 3.6p, an increase of 6%, taking the total dividend for the year to 5.2p, an increase of 7.2%, covered 1.3X by underlying EPS

Maintaining a progressive dividend

We are proposing a final dividend of 3.6p, taking the full year dividend to 5.2p, an increase of 7.2% and equivalent to 1.3 times dividend cover. Our policy is to target cover between 1.5 and 2.0 times underlying earnings per share. Cover this year is below that range, due to a £0.4m prior year adjustment for tax that is a one-off occurrence. Subject to approval at the AGM on 28 June 2017, we expect to pay the final dividend on 5 July to those shareholders on the register at close of business on 9 June.

Outlook

Trading has commenced in line with the Board's expectations and this, together with the pipeline of work for the next quarter, means that we begin the 2017/2018 financial year with a degree of optimism. The Board remains confident that the Group's long-term strategy to become a world-class aviation services group will continue to create shareholder value.

[robsy2] 27/4/2017 08:01

A very decent set of results. the company has some way to go with its aim of diversifying the business from aircraft broking which still accounts for 90% of business and where earnings visibility is an issue. The complementary businesses they have bought look to fit nicely, are profitable in themselves and i would imagine highly complementary to providing a sales pipeline to the broking business.
There are more and more planes out there , their footprint is growing , they offer interesting services and are dynamic so they should do at least as well in the future as they have to date.
The accounts read well to me , very credible sounding bunch who have a good track record.
R2

[speedsgh] 21/4/2017 10:18

Air Partner and Camper & Nicholsons International announce strategic partnership -

Air Partner plc (“Air Partner”), the global aviation services group, and Camper & Nicholsons International (“Camper & Nicholsons”), the global leader in all luxury yachting activities, today announce that they have entered into a strategic partnership, effective immediately.

The agreement will enable the two businesses to leverage each other’s client bases to offer a full suite of private jet and superyacht services, ensuring a seamless and integrated travel experience.

The partnership will provide the clients of both Air Partner and Camper & Nicholsons with a one-stop shop for their luxury air and sea-based travel needs, so that their feet need hardly touch the ground. Both companies are leaders in their industries and are renowned for their expertise and unparalleled levels of service: clients will benefit from the pooling of these resources and capabilities, with every trip guaranteed to be handled with the uppermost priority and attention from start to finish.

Air Partner’s industry-leading Private Jets division charters aircraft and jets up to 19 seats for a broad range of clients, offering the entire spectrum of services from occasional charter to its award-winning and pre-paid JetCard. This flexible model buys clients 25 hours or more of flying time in their choice of six private jet categories, with guaranteed availability and the freedom to exit at any time. The team delivers its Private Jets services from 20 key locations across the world to a global client base that includes HNWIs, royalty, heads of state, conglomerates sports stars and rock stars.

Camper & Nicholsons is the global leader in all luxury yachting activities, specialising in the sale, purchase, charter, marketing, management and construction of the finest yachts in the world. The company has 11 offices centred around the world’s most popular yachting destinations and important financial hubs, including Monaco, London and New York. The business has a long history of building strategic relationships with leading companies which stand for the same level of excellence in their respective fields.

Commenting on the partnership, Mark Briffa, CEO of Air Partner, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Camper & Nicholsons, a company that shares our values as well as our passion for luxury travel. This agreement is further progress against our clearly defined strategy to optimise, enhance and extend our client offer. At Air Partner, we pride ourselves on always putting our clients first, delivering complex and comprehensive solutions while providing exceptional service.”

Paolo Casani, Managing Director, Camper & Nicholsons International, commented: “It is a privilege to be able to call Air Partner our new trusted partner. In sharing the same goal of providing our clients with the uppermost level of service and the ultimate luxury experience, this partnership will enable our two companies to work hand-in-hand, going above and beyond in offering our clients some truly unique packages. I am excited to see how our synergy will spark something very special for our clients.”

[lbo] 29/3/2017 12:00

GAMA Aviation results said Europe Air had challenging market conditions and revenue down 5.1% gross profit down 21.6%. The division also incurred foreign exchange losses as it is affected by any material foreign exchange movements, primarily between GBP and USD.

[dozey3] 27/3/2017 19:06

Maybe, but perhaps somebody knows something lurking in the undergrowth that we don't.

[tiswas] 27/3/2017 15:10

Top up time?

[robsy2] 21/3/2017 20:41

Sounds good, just wondering , how much does a second hand b747 cost. And what commission do they pay?R2