Air Energi upbeat as profits dip
AIR Energi Group, the manpower firm which recruits staff for oil and gas companies worldwide, saw profits fall from £4.2m to £3.4m last year as its earnings and sales in the Asia-Pacific region fell.
The Manchester company, which was valued a year ago at £30m when it struck a deal with Zeus Private Equity, saw turnover rise 17% to £133.2m in the 12 months to December 31 2009.
In what was described by directors as a “strong trading” period, there was good turnover growth in the UK/Europe- (£82.9m to £112.4m) and North America/Canada (£10.4m to £11.6m), which was reflected in higher profits.
But in the Asia-Pacific region, turnover by origin more than halved to £9.1m from £20.4m in 2008 and pre-tax profits fell from £1.7m to £624,994.
Since the year end Air Energi, which is led by executive chairman Ian Langley and chief executive Duncan Gregson, has moved to strengthen its position in the Asia Pacific region, with the opening of an office in Japan and an acquisition in Papua New Guinea.
In the directors’ statement Mr Gregson said the group is confident of further growth this year.
“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 our continued strong growth during 2010.”
Newly filed accounts for parent company Air Energi Holdings covering the same period, show that it holds net debt of £25.1m, of which £10.05m is loan stock.
