Avation PLC (LON:AVAP) expects pre-tax profits to have more than doubled when it reports its first-half results later this month.

The company, which buys planes and then leases them out to airlines such as Thomas Cook and Air France, said it “continues to perform well”.

READ: Avation reveals new long-term lease agreement

As such, revenue for the six months ended 31 December is likely to rise to around US$58.0mln (H1 18: US$52.4mln) when Avation publishes its interim results on 21 February.

Earnings per share and profit before taxation are both expected to double this time around. In the first half of the 2017/18 financial year, Avation generated earnings of 10.9 cents per share and a pre-tax profit of US$7.3mln.

In the six-month period, the £170mln company struck several leasing deals, including with Danish Air Transport and Latvian airline airBaltic.