Air Energi reports profit ahead of sale
MANCHESTER-based recruiter Air Energi moved into profit in 2011, declaring a pre-tax profit of £2.7m as sales grew by 37% to £209.4m (2010: £152.8m).
The company, which specialises in placing technical staff into oil & gas firms around the world, moved back into a profit after declaring a pre-tax loss of £1.4m in 2010 – due largely to interest payments and a one-off £2.8m charge relating to new bank facilities.
Air Energi is currently owned by Manchester-based Palatine Private Equity following a £30m buy-out from founders Ian Langley and Duncan Gregson in 2009. Both men remain at the firm as chairman and chief executive, however, and are currently in talks to complete another deal which could see Legal & General Ventures back a secondary buy-out. A deal is expected to complete within the next month.
Accounts for Air Energi Holdings prepared by finance director Ken McPherson show that the directors considered the result to be “strong”, as both sales and operating profits increased – the latter by over 30% to £5.5m after exceptional costs were stripped out.
“Activity within the sector continues to be strong and we remain confident that, with our global reach and the quality and breadth of our service offering, this will result in continued strong growth during 2012.”
The bulk of the growth experienced during the year has come from its push into markets in the Asia Pacific region, where the company recently acquired an agency in Indonesia. Asia Pacific now represents the company’s largest overseas market, having grown sales from £38.4m to £67.6m in a single year.
Staff numbers also grew from 174 to 216 during the year.
