Avation's annual profit drops

7th Sep 2015 15:34

(ShareCast News) - Aircraft leasing group Avation reported a drop in annual profit after making a loss on the sale of an old aircraft, while one-off gains it achieved in 2014 did not recur.In the year to 30 June, the company posted a $15.5m pre-tax profit, 10.4% lower year-on-year, while lease revenue rose 17% to $56.9m.The group attributed the decline in profit to "variability in aircraft trading gains and losses between the respective financial periods", adding the one-off gains it made from the sale of two airplanes last year were not replicated.Avation said the $1.2m loss its subsidiary Capital Lease Aviation booked from the disposal of a 25-year-old aircraft had a detrimental effect on its profit.Meanwhile, the London-listed group said its fleet increased from 25 planes to 29 and hiked its total dividend by 49% to 3.00p."The key objectives for 2016 are to improve profitability through fleet growth, increase customer diversification and add scale to the business," group chairman Jeff Chatfield said.Avation shares were up 4.02% to 126.90p at 1610 BST on Monday.