Auckland Airport’s full-year underlying profit has plummeted 122.2% to a loss of $41.8m – the first ever in the company’s history.
Revenue was down 50.4% to $281.1m and total number of passengers decreased to 6.4 million, down 58.5% on the previous financial year. No final dividend will be paid.
Chair Patrick Strange says the airport has worked through the pandemic to keep New Zealand safely connected to the world but the result highlights the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation sector.
“This week’s national lockdown is a reminder that while there is still a great deal of uncertainty, the accelerating vaccination programme allows us to plan beyond the current phase of the pandemic with increasing confidence,’ he says.
Chief executive Adrian Littlewood points out that the airport saw its lowest number of international arrivals and departures since 1972.
“COVID-19 changed our business overnight bringing constant upheaval to almost every part of our operation. But throughout all the uncertainty of the past 18 months, our team’s determination to get the job done and go the extra mile for New Zealand has never faltered.”
Infrastructure
Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, Auckland Airport had begun delivering on over $2 billion of core aeronautical infrastructure projects with eight anchor projects underway.
Littlewood says despite the impact of the pandemic on the aviation sector, Auckland Airport’s capital investment in the 2021 financial year had continued.
It was focusing on the upgrade and renewal of core infrastructure and to take advantage of the low traffic environment on the airfield and roads to minimise disruption.
This included:
• $26m invested in runway and wider airfield pavement replacements and upgrades
• $69m in roading upgrades and construction of a mass transit system, including a $21m contribution towards improvements along State Highway 20B which added high-occupancy vehicle lanes, cycling and walking paths, as well as road safety improvements to the important Auckland Airport-Puhunui-Britomart public transport connection.
Littlewood says Auckland Airport has also carried out significant work to reset and reprioritise its infrastructure development plan.
“We have used this time to create a refreshed infrastructure development pathway that is realistic, prioritises the right projects, and is in line with aviation’s recovery,” he says.
For Auckland-based travellers, a new transport hub with upgraded pedestrian, transport links, and car parking will offer a smooth connection into the terminal building.
The first $30m stage of the $1b-plus domestic hub is expected to get underway in early 2022, focusing on demolition works to clear the footprint of building.
Littlewood says the next major phase of development would be determined by a range of factors including the speed of aviation’s recovery.
“Along with the domestic hub we are continuing to progress three more of our anchor projects: our $160 million-plus programme of transport upgrades; a $200 million-plus transport hub; and upgrades to the existing domestic terminal. Anchor projects that remain on hold are the international airfield and taxiway expansion; new cargo precinct; new international arrivals area and the second runway,” he says.
Airfreight cargo
Auckland Airport also played a critical role in transportation of goods with a majority of New Zealand’s airfreight cargo passing through the facility.
Its international network currently connects Auckland Airport and New Zealand to 27 Asia, Pacific and Middle- Eastern cities operated by 14 airlines ensuring that essential travel and cargo flows continue.
Auckland Airport aeronautical commercial general manager Scott Tasker says the Government’s international air-freight capacity support scheme has continued to play an important role in connecting New Zealand to its international markets.
The cargo capacity and connectivity at the airport has ensured that essential imports and high-value goods exports have continued to flow in and out of New Zealand. In the 2021 financial year 166,000 tonnes of international cargo passed through Auckland Airport, 88% of New Zealand’s airfreight cargo.
This was up slightly by 0.9% on last year but down 13.6% on the 2019-2020 period.
