Air control profits soar to £106m

Air traffic control company Nats, which could soon be fully privatised, announced increased annual profits today.

The company, in which the Government has a 49 per cent stake, made a pre-tax profit of £106.1m in 2010/11, compared with £78.3m in 2009/10.

It was announced in the Budget in March this year that the Government intended to “realise value from its shareholding in Nats, subject to considering the views of key interested parties”.

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Last month Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced a month-long consultation, which ends next week, into any possible sell-off of the Government’s 49 per cent stake in Nats.

Announcing its financial results today, Nats said it handled 2.17m flights in 2011/12 and that delays attributable to Nats were just 4.3 seconds per flight.

This year marks the 10th year since Nats has operated as a private public partnership scheme, with a consortium of seven airlines, including British Airways, owning 41.9 per cent of the company.

The rest is owned by airport operator BAA and by a Nats employee share trust.

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Nats chief executive Richard Deakin said: “We are in a strong position for the future. This is a world-class company with a world-class future ahead.

“And, while I’m satisfied with the progress we have made over the past 10 years, and the focus we have brought to our business, this is just the start of a much bigger journey reflecting a greater ambition for Nats.

“We have developed a strategy to grow our business, and to ensure that we have the capabilities and skills to enable that growth. We will focus primarily on growth in the aviation market, an industry where Nats’ reputation and capability set are very strong.