Australia's Macquarie Airports H1 net profit up nearly five fold
29 Aug 2007
Australia-based airport investor, Macquarie Airports Management Ltd, said its first half net profit rose nearly five fold to A$953 million ($783.5 million). But the figures are a little misleading, because the company's topline was boosted by sales of stakes in airports in Birmingham and Rome. In the first half last year, the company posted a net profit of A$203.7 million ($167.5 million).
But the airports Macquarie still has a stake in - Sydney, Brussels and Bristol, among others - benefited from increased traffic. Meanwhile, the company said it will acquire Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund's 3.2 per cent stake in Brussels Airport for approximately A$85 million ($70 million).
The purchase will lift its stake in Brussels Airport to 57.1 per cent. It brings to almost A$1 billion ($822 million), the amount it has invested in existing or new airport assets so far this year.
Macquarie Airport chief executive Kerrie Mather said H1 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the company's core portfolio rose by nine per cent from a year ago, supported by a 4.8 per cent rise in airport traffic.
She said the company is keeping its forecast for long term traffic growth at 4 to 5 per cent, while the group intends to enhance revenue yields through commercial initiatives and to boost EBITDA through operational efficiencies.
Mather said the group is well placed to weather current global credit troubles, as its debt packages for all airports over the past two years took advantage of favourable market conditions, and are fully hedged for the next five years with an average maturity of eight years.
The company reaffirmed its distribution guidance of 26 cents per security for the year to December 2007, subject to external shocks to the aviation industry or any material changes in its forecast assumptions. On 20 August, Macquarie Airports paid an interim dividend of 13 cents per security for the first half.
