Losses deepen for Robin Hood owner
LOSSES have widened a further 30% at Peel Holdings’ airports division, following the pattern of decline seen in passenger and cargo volumes.
The division, which owns Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield and Durham Tees Valley Airport, saw turnover fell 9.3% to £48.4m for the year ending March 2009, from £53.4m a year earlier.
Peel is in talks to sell a stake in the airports division to an investment partner, but no mention of the process was made in the accounts.
Pre-tax losses widened 29.7% to £13.1m, from £10.1m a year earlier, newly filed accounts show.
The group, which employs 655 staff, said that despite a tough year, it continued to invest in its airports, in order to create “the platform for profitable returns for the future”.
Total passenger numbers across all three airports fell 9.5% to 6.7m from 7.4m a year earlier. At Liverpool John Lennon Airport, passenger numbers fell 7.5% to 5.1 million, while volumes of cargo also fell – by 700 tons to 3,000 tons.
The directors’ report said: “The reduction was primarily down to the temporary suspension of the TNT air services, due to the decline in international imports and exports. The cargo market continues to be affected by the credit crisis and the aftermath of the rise in oil prices.”
A spokesperson for the group added: “Although the difficult economic climate last year impacted on all airports across the UK, much of the increased loss was associated with a reorganisation within the business.
“Having delivered this, the group is well positioned to realise its future potential as the business comes out of the recession. In recent months new business announcements have been made across the group and Liverpool John Lennon Airport has already seen passenger growth in the past two consecutive months, which is expected to be repeated across the group in the year ahead.”
Net debt for Peel Holdings (Airports) increased to £105.4m (2008: £86m), mainly because of capital expenditure projects across the airports, particularly hotel and car park development at Liverpool.
