Auckland Airport chair Patrick Strange says the last six months have been “the most challenging” of the airport’s 54-year history.
His comments are on the back of the company’s FY20 annual results report for the 12 months to June 30.
Reported profit after tax was down 63% to $193.9 million and revenue was down 23.7% to $567m.
Total number of passengers decreased to 15.5 million, down 26.5% on the previous year. International passenger numbers (including transits) were 8.5 million while domestic passenger numbers were 7 million.
“The global pandemic and the extremely difficult aviation and tourism operating conditions we have seen over the past six months are far from over,” Strange says.
“But we have worked quickly to respond with our sights set firmly on our future. The long-term fundamentals of our business remain strong and we have taken steps to ensure we remain resilient and well positioned for a recovery as demand for international travel returns.”
Chief executive Adrian Littlewood said the 2020 financial year had been dramatically split in two.
“The first half of the year saw Auckland Airport embark upon a series of ambitious infrastructure projects which were transforming our precinct into an airport of the future.
“The second half of the financial year brought a global pandemic and international tourism in New Zealand to a virtual halt,” he says.
Littlewood says he is proud of the way the airport has played a critical role during the pandemic with 115 repatriation flights and keeping essential freight flowing.
However, he says the difficult decision was made to reduce the size of its workforce by around 25% due to the significant fall in passenger numbers.
“It goes without saying that it’s been an extraordinarily difficult time for our team. Unfortunately, we’re not alone and recognise that many of the organisations that operate alongside us at Auckland Airport have suffered major job losses, including our retail and airline partners and companies that supply services at the airport.”
In April, Auckland Airport carried out a successful $1.2 billion equity raise and a new strategic plan called ‘Respond, Recover, Accelerate’ has been developed.
“In May, with flight movements at an all-time low and with the support of our airline partners and other stakeholders, we brought forward the planned $26 million runway pavement replacement works, temporarily shortening the runway by 1.1km during construction to renew 280 sections of pavement in the eastern touchdown zone. This work was successfully completed on budget in August 2020,” Littlewood says.
The airport is hopeful that domestic travel will return “to normal within two years” and that short-haul Tasman and Pacific Island travel will resume sometime in 2021, with a full recovery of both these markets occurring before long-haul international travel returns to normal.
Littlewood says Auckland Airport’s capital investment in the 2021 financial year will be focused on advancing existing roading infrastructure projects.
It will also work in core airfield renewals such as slab replacement and apron works; upgrades to the baggage system; and completing pre-leased property developments. Capital expenditure for the 2021 financial year is expected to be between $250m and $300m.
Key performance data for the full year includes:
- Total number of passengers decreased to 15.5 million, down 26.5% on the previous year. International passenger numbers (including transits) were 8.5 million while domestic passenger numbers were 7 million.
• Operating EBITDAFI was down by 53.1% to $260.4 million.
• Reported profit after tax was down 63% to $193.9 million.
• Underlying profit after tax was down 31.4% to $188.5 million.
• Earnings per share was down 64.5% to 15.2 cents per share and underlying earnings per share was also down 34.7% to 14.7 cents per share.
• Revenue was down 23.7% to $567 million.
• No final dividend will be paid.
