Australian and Asian regional carrier Skywest has seen an annual rise in profits and revenues as it expands to support Virgin Australia services.
The company has plans to potentially double its fleet of 18 turboprop aircraft to 38 or more as part of a wet lease agreement with Virgin Australia.
Group after tax profit for the year to June 30 rose by 7% to £4.7 million as revenues rose by 11% to £116 million.
Executive chairman Jeff Chatfield said the results came against the backdrop of an “extremely volatile” operating environment with persistently high jet fuel costs.
Planned measures by Australian authorities to cut back on CO2 emissions may impact costs going forward, he cautioned.
“This year has further demonstrated the impact of significant rapid changes in exchange rate and fuel costs,” said Chatfield. “These two factors still represent a significant risk to the business.”
The company must also “anticipate a possible slow down in the rate of growth due to the global crisis of confidence in the broader economy associated with the credit institutions”.