Avincis, the rescue and firefighting aircraft operator with roots tracing back to Inaer, faced a challenging year for its group led by entrepreneur Luis Minano. Established in the eighties, the company has its headquarters and a major operations hub at Mutxamel Airport. The two principal entities that form the group posted significant losses in the most recent audited financial year (April 2022 to March 2023), even though both reported improvements in revenue according to their balance sheets filed with the Trade Registry.
During the period, a change of ownership occurred with the British multinational partner that has been part of the group since July 2022. Babcock reached a sales agreement, and Ancala Partners rebranded the assets under Grupo Avincis. The transition, effective February 2023, meant that the accounts, while signed by the new owners, still reflected the prior management’s structure and decisions.
In Spain, the group’s activities are organized into two main entities: Avincis Aviation España SAU, responsible for various contracts related to firefighting, rescue, and medical transport won through public tenders; and Avincis Aviation Techniques SAU, which owns the aircraft, notably helicopters, used for care missions.
numbers
The operator managed to close the year with a profit, reporting 148.3 million euros in revenue, up 6.2% from the previous year. Yet, this growth did not spare the group from increasing costs that led to a 16 million euro loss, up from 2.9 million the year before. The company attributes this to a rise in core operating costs driven by higher fuel prices linked to the conflict in Ukraine and salaries that could not be fully passed on to customers, along with other non-recurring factors.
The entity that owned the helicopters and leased them to the group recorded 85.8 million euros in revenue, up 5.6%, but, like the rest of the group, faced higher red figures, rising from 27.1 million to 39.6 million euros.
Alongside inflation-driven cost increases, there was depreciation in aircraft values. The company must annually forecast profitability and recoverable value for each asset, projecting figures that rose from 31.9 million to 39.2 million. This reflects the ongoing evaluation of asset performance in a volatile market.
Babcock employees begin mobilization at Mutxamel airport this Tuesday
Overall, the management reports from both entities confirm the new owners’ commitment to back both companies. The goal is to stabilize equity and maintain balance through at least the end of 2025. As part of this support, a 44.1 million euro infusion was provided to Avincis Aviation on March 31 of the previous year to safeguard solvency. The current order book, representing contracted activity for the coming years, stands at 277 million euros.
This strategic backing underscores the importance of maintaining operational capacity and financial resilience as the group navigates a market characterized by inflation, currency movements, and shifting regulatory environments. The separate business streams within Avincis Spain continue to pursue public tenders and long-term agreements that secure a steady pipeline of missions and service provision.