Profits take off at Manchester Airport Group
THE parent company of Manchester Airport has reported buoyant first half results, led by rising passenger numbers at Manchester and Stansted.
Manchester Airport Group (MAG), which also owns East Midlands and Bournemouth Airports, said its “strong financial performance” had been underpinned by investment to support growth in passenger volumes and improve customer service.
In the six months to the end of September EBITDA and revenues showed growth of more than 8%. EBITDA rose 8.7% to £183m driven by increases in both passenger numbers and commercial yields, while revenues were 8.1% ahead at £421.4m.
The group which is majority-owned by the 10 Greater Manchester Authorities said operating profits were up 8.7% to £117.6m. Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of £31m, the group said.
During the period passenger numbers accelerated 8.5% to 28.1 million. Passenger numbers at Manchester are expected to hit a pre-recession peak of 22 million this financial year while Stansted has recently become the fastest growing major airport in the London system.
Neil Thompson, chief financial officer of MAG, said: “MAG has delivered a strong financial performance in the first six months of the year, meeting or exceeding its financial targets and continuing the growth rate delivered over the past few years.
“A busy summer period saw more passengers than ever before using our four airports and taking advantage of the long term commercial agreements we have in place with airlines that have provided a broader range of destinations than ever before. We continue to focus on further diversifying our route offering, particularly with regards long haul.
“I am especially pleased with the performance of Manchester which is reaching its record annual passenger level and Stansted which is now showing industry leading levels of passenger growth.
“Stansted alone has added over two million passengers since we acquired the airport in February 2013 and has begun to see substantial operational and commercial benefits from being part of the group. Unlike other London airports, Stansted has spare runway capacity today and significant room to grow in the future and it is vital that faster rail services are delivered between London and Stansted so as to ensure that this potential is utilised.
“We also continue to invest significantly in our infrastructure, with the existing facilities at all four airports having been improved in the last six months.”
