Flybe posts rise in pre-tax profit

Northern Ireland's biggest airline Flybe reported half yearly pre-tax profit of £14.3m, up from £8.2m the same time a year earlier.

Revenue for six months ended 30 September rose to £341.6m from £321m the year before. Operating profit grew to £16.2m from £14.8m in 2010.

Passenger numbers increased by 5% across the group while revenue per seat also increased.

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Flybe said it remains confident for its the long-term future.

Forward ticket sales revenue for winter 2011/12 is currently down 1% year-on-year, while its capacity management programme means seats flown will be down by 6% against the previous year.

However Flybe cautioned that UK trading conditions remain challenging.

"In terms of the business as a whole, through a focus on costs and capacity management, we continue to mitigate the impact of the economic slowdown in the UK; our UK to Europe sales are holding up well," said chairman and chief executive officer Jim French.

Total cash at period end £88.4m compared to £41.8m a year earlier.

No dividend payments have been recommended.

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cj