Flying through turbulence

ALLIANCE Airlines has managed to buck the trend of carriers leaking profits during the last 12 months, delivering a 25% improvement in net profit after tax of $33.7 million.

The company’s bottom line was bolstered by significant growth in its chartered flights division which saw revenue climb by 66% during the full year to 30 Jun, fuelled by a solid uptake in FIFO services in the country’s resources sector.

In other revenue streams Alliance also saw minor gains made in long-term flying contracts, up 6% on the prior year, while wet lease revenue dropped markedly to $7.8 million from $24.4 million last year as a result of ongoing COVID barriers.

Despite this, the company said it anticipates a major rebound in its wet lease division in the next 12 months following new deals struck for the forward period, including a major contract with Qantas in Feb (TD 04 Feb) that will see the carrier access up to 18 Embraer E190 aircraft when domestic travel conditions allow.

Cash in the bank also dropped during the period for Alliance on the back of five E190 aircraft acquisitions and associated costs totalling more than $200 million, purchases that will form the core pillar of its future growth strategy.

Cash reserves shrank from $98.8 million to $36.2 million in the last year, while underlying profit increased by 25% and underlying EBITDA also rose by 12%.

“Alliance has produced a record result at a time when we are investing heavily in supporting the growth of our business,” the airline’s MD Scott McMillan said.

“Utilising the Fokker fleet continues to reap benefits of past planning...and is the operational foundation on which the E190 expansion has been built.”