Higher losses recorded at airline

Losses widened at Eastern Airways as the impact of the oil downturn and Brexit hurt the regional airline.

Accounts lodged at Companies House show Eastern Airways (UK) – part of US aviation giant Bristow – made pre-tax losses of £6.8 million during the year to March 31 2018.

This was compared with losses of £3.5m in 2016-17, although turnover grew more than 13% to £61.6m in the latest period.

Business passengers flying into Aberdeen are an important source of revenue for Humberside Airport-based Eastern.

In his review of the 2017-18, Eastern chief executive Richard Lake said: “The impact of cost reductions implemented by the oil and gas sector... has resulted in reduced passengers.

“We are expecting to see some improvements

“See some improvements in passenger volumes in 2019”

in passenger volumes in 2019.”

Mr Lake said “significant fluctuations” in the value of the pound after the Brexit vote also hit the company’s financial performance.

He added: “A large proportion of aircraft parts, leasing, fuel and other costs are prices in US dollars, and this is only partly mitigated by revenues.

A new franchise deal with Flybe on some Scottish routes boosted turnover and also “brand presence” with the regional aviation industry, Mr Lake said.

Eastern’s strategy of phasing out older aircraft in its fleet is helping to reduce costs in the current trading year, he added.

Eastern is one of the largest carriers operating out of Aberdeen. Bristow took over the business in a multimillion-pound deal in February 2014. The boss at M2 Subsea (M2S) has jumped ship to another remotely-operatedvehicle (ROV) specialist after “winding down” the firm – less than three years after its launch.

Mike Arnold has joined Rovop, based in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, as a consultant tasked with enhancing customer relations.

Mr Arnold launched M2S in Houston in May 2016.

Later that year, the company bought a fleet of ROVs from the failed Harkand Group after securing a multi-millionpound investment from private-equity firm Alchemy Special Opportunities.

But M2S, also headquartered in Westhill, did not fare much better than Harkand.

It suffered pre-tax losses of £7 million for the period from October 5 2016 to December 31 2017.

In the accounts for that period, M2S directors admitted the company was not yet producing a positive cash flow and that it relied on financial support from its principal investor.

In October, board members at M2S said they were consulting employees after the company sold its entire fleet of 28 ROVs to Rovop.

At the time, M2S said it