Nats on course for profits take-off

NATIONAL Air Traffic Services (Nats) has been cleared for huge profits this year after the control towers operator returned to the black for the first time since part-privatisation.

More than half of Nats was sold by the Government in 2001, but it nosedived to £109m losses across its first two years, struggling to cope with the biggest-ever aviation recession after the 9/11 attacks.

But for the year to March, the company today reported a pre-tax profit of £1.8m.

The figure would have been much better but for a one-off £56m hit on the restructuring of £850m debt.

Underlying operating profits are double what they were a year ago and its revenues linked to air traffic movements are forecast to grow more than 6% in the current year, against 4.5% for the year just ended.

'A healthier operating environment has delivered higher revenues and our continued drive to manage costs has transformed the financial performance,' said chairman Chris Gibson-Smith.

Sacked chief executive Richard Everitt leaves at the end of the month with a £446,000 pay-off on top of the £580,000 he was paid over the past 15 months. He is replaced by ex-Alstom executive Paul Barron.