BBA Aviation reports 20% jump in profits

5th Aug 2011 08:46

Shares in BBA Aviation fell lower on Friday despite the aviation support and aftermarkets services provider reporting a 20% increase in profits on sales that grew 12%.Pre-tax profit climbed from £39m to £49.5m, while revenue rose from £587.4m to £660.2m. Earnings per share rose 16% from 7.3p to 8.5p.The firm said that higher fuel prices helped revenues by £43.1m in Flight Support, while acquisitions added £14.8m."In an active and successful first half, BBA Aviation performed strongly as our markets improved. Good organic revenue growth and strong operating discipline resulted in enhanced profitability in both divisions and an improving trend in the group's return on invested capital," said chief executive officer Simon Pryce.However, free cash flow plummeted from £35.2m to £3.6m. This was partly due to a "timing difference", but this is expected to normalise by the end of the year."Notwithstanding global economic uncertainty, we continue to expect to build on the strong results delivered in the first half with positive underlying progress for the remainder of the year," Pryce said.The dividend payout was hiked by 5% from 2.4p to 2.52p.Shares fell 2.63% lower to 174.30p at 09:53.BC