Aircraft charter specialist Air Charter Service has enjoyed an excellent first six months of the year, in which charter flights and turnover both saw double-digit growth, with revenues up 14 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Chris Leach, chairman and founder of ACS says: “We are delighted with performance across the board for the first half of the year [our financial year starts on 1 February], but we are particularly happy with private jets, which saw a 20 per cent increase in revenue. Our underlying flight numbers have increased by around 10 per cent, which is particularly pleasing when compared to the industry average, which only saw two per cent growth over the first half of the year.
“Our top line growth in charter numbers is 45 per cent, but that huge difference is due to a small number of large contracts we have won across different continents. These involve a high number of low value flights, which makes like-for-like figures incomparable to the same period last year.
“Whilst not reaching the heights of private jet growth, revenue in our other two main divisions of cargo and group charter also grew, bringing revenue for the company in the first six months up by 14 per cent to more than GBP 455 million ($610 million).
“Though group revenue has grown by 14 per cent, it is worth acknowledging that there have been several non-repeatable events that have perhaps slightly inflated this figure. These have included supply chain issues in Southeast Asia, Middle Eastern evacuations and a large number of flights for an international sporting competition. However, despite these events, our underlying revenue growth is still more than our target of 10 per cent, and our set up means we are well-placed to deal with events such as these, so we can't discount them completely.
“Another pleasing figure is our EBITDA for the first half of 2025, which is on track for a 20-30 per cent increase, if H2 continues on the same trajectory.
“Our growth plans are set to continue into the second half of the year with the openings of more offices. In the first six months of 2025 we have opened three new offices, in Milan, Montreal and Cologne, and we have plans for several more before the end of the year, including two imminent announcements.”