Malta International Airport plc - 2018 Traffic Results & Forecast for 2019
On 17 January 2019, Malta International Airport plc issued an announcement revealing the 2018 traffic results and the passenger forecast for 2019.
During 2018, MIA registered a 13.2% increase in passenger movements to a new record of 6.81 million movements (2017: 6.01 million). The most popular markets were the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Spain. Furthermore, for the fifth consecutive year, the growth in the shoulder months outpaced the peak summer months, whilst nine airlines either extended their routes originally introduced in summer into the winter season, or else increased flight frequencies on certain routes on the back of their confidence in Malta’s potential as a holiday destination even in the off-peak months.
2019 Passenger Forecast
Following the ninth consecutive year of record passenger movements in 2018, MIA is expecting a further growth in passenger numbers of 5.8% to 7.2 million for 2019. In particular, the summer schedule will feature 18 new route developments, including flights to Amman and the launch of daily operations to Doha by newcomer Qatar Airways.
2019 Financial Targets
MIA outlined the following targets for the 2019 financial year:
- Revenues of €96 million
- EBITDA of €59 million
- Net profit of €31 million
- Capital investments of over €20 million
- Annual taxes & dividend contributions to Government to be in the region of €21 million
Capital investments
MIA has earmarked €20 million for capital projects in 2019 as the airport campus will continue to develop infrastructurally, paving the way for more ambitious long-term developments such as the expansion of the terminal building. As such, MIA will be working on finalising plans for this project, which will see the terminal occupy a larger footprint and offer better facilities, throughout 2019.
Complementing this landside project, the multi-million development of Apron 10 is expected to provide Malta International Airport with aircraft capacity stability for the long term. Plans for the development of this aircraft parking area, which will cater for 7 additional stands for Code C aircraft, four stands for Code E, or a combination of both, are in the works.
In addition, MIA is currently working on its €20 million parking village project, which will introduce 1,300 covered parking spaces on the airport campus by 2020, and has also recently issued a call for the submission of design concepts for the €40 million SkyParks 2 development.