Christchurch Airport lifts 1H profit

Wednesday 15 February 2017 09:21 AM

Christchurch Airport lifts 1H profit, sees record numbers of passengers, growth from China

By Sophie Boot

Feb. 15 (BusinessDesk) - Christchurch International Airport, which is 75 percent owned by the city council, posted a 13 percent lift in profit after a record number of passengers in the first half of the financial year.

Net profit rose to $18.3 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, from $16.2 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Operating revenue rose 6.5 percent to $86.4 million, with aeronautical revenue up 6.4 percent to $42.5 million and non-aeronautical revenue rising 6.6 percent to $43.9 million.

The airport will pay an interim dividend of $16.4 million, up 13 percent on the year earlier. Total passenger movements rose 4.4 percent to 3.24 million, a first-half record.

Chief executive Malcolm Johns said the first six months have shown strong growth, with domestic passenger numbers up 3.2 percent but international passenger numbers rising about 8 percent.

"New or increased services from China Southern Airlines, Emirates A380, Qantas and Fiji Airways have increased our connections to key regional airport hubs and driven strong international visitor growth into the South Island and New Zealand," he said.

Johns said there had been a 53 percent growth in Hong Kong residents visiting, a 37 percent increase from Chinese nationals, 32 percent more Indonesians and 25 percent more visitors from Taiwan in the first half. The airport is also seeing more Chinese visitors within the "free independent traveller" category, who Johns said were "younger, spending more and exploring more on our China services."

The company expects to see 6.7 million passengers in its full financial year, up from 6.3 million in 2016 and 5.9 million in 2015.

Christchurch Airport is among assets owned by Christchurch City Council's investment holding company, while the Minister of Finance and the Minister for State-Owned Enterprises each hold one-eighth, meaning the Crown will receive about $4.1 million in dividends.

(BusinessDesk)

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