Strong growth for ACS
27 / 02 / 2015
BROKER Air Charter Service (ACS) enjoyed a strong first half of the year with both revenue and charter numbers up across all three divisions of the company, writes Thelma Etim, deputy editor.
Chairman Chris Leach observes: “The figures across the board make pleasant reading. Every department – private jets, commercial airliners and cargo – has grown by more than 10 per cent in terms of number of charters, and our overall revenue increased by 10 per cent to £135m (US$230m) for the six months endingJuly 31 2014.
“Commercial Jets is our newest division and therefore, understandably, had the largest increase in terms of growth which justifies our strong investment in staffing and technology, with plans to expand this offering to some of our offices which currently do not have commercial jet specialists.”
Leach goes on to reveal that the ACS cargo business has recovered well from 2013, “which, I think everyone in the industry would agree, was a bad year for the overall market and, after a slow start to this year, charter numbers are up by 22 per cent year-on-year.”
He also notes: “Whilst some offices in our private jet division have grown more than others around the world, the growth is very evenly spread, with no market-driven particular variances of note, but overall a pleasing increase of 10.2 per cent in number of charters.”
The results also show much stronger growth in the second quarter. "If the trend of the past three months continues into the second half of the year, then we are on course to enjoy a record year in revenue and sales,” Leach adds.
The results reflect ACS’s continuous investment in global infrastructure. "We have hired top talent around the globe and developed our IT systems and product offerings, as well as opening new offices – most recently Houston in May.
"It is extremely pleasing to see these investments pay off. I believe that if we continue to invest in the same way as we have been, then we will achieve our ultimate aim of becoming the largest charter brokerage house in the world across all three sectors in the next five or 10 years.”
