Malta International Airport plc - Interim Results

On 17 July, Malta International Airport plc published its interim results covering the performance for the first six months of the year. During the period under review, the airport operator generated €22.71 million in revenue, which is marginally higher than the €22.67 million in turnover registered during the same period last year. This improvement is mainly due to the 5% increase in revenue from the ‘Retail and Property’ segment to €6.13 million (H1 2011: €5.83 million) reflecting the rise in income from concessionaries.

In the ‘Airport’ segment, MIA registered a 1.6% increase in passenger movements during the first six months of 2012 to a record 1.58 million passengers over the corresponding period of 2011. Notwithstanding the increase in passenger movements, revenue generated from aviation fees dropped by 0.8% to €16.3 million since the incentives paid to the airlines to operate flights to and from Malta were higher in 2012 when compared to the first six months of 2011.

On the expenditure side, staff costs for the first 6 months of the year dropped by 18% to €3.7 million following a reduction in the number of employees as a result of the early retirement schemes implemented during 2010 and 2011. Meanwhile, other operating costs edged 5.8% higher to €9.3 million.

Nonetheless, the Group’s earnings before tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 3.8% to €9.7 million. After accounting for a depreciation charge of €2.3 million (H1 2011: €2.5 million), the Group’s operating profit amounted to €7.5 million representing a 7.4% increase over the corresponding figure last year.

Net interest expense dropped by 32% to just under €500,000 leading to a pre-tax profit of €7.04 million representing a 12% increase over the corresponding figure relating to the first half of 2011. After accounting for a tax charge of €2.6 million, the profit for the period under review amounted to €4.48 million (+13%) which translates into an earnings per share figure of €0.0331 compared to €0.0293 for the first half of 2011.

Dividend

The Board of Directors declared an unchanged net interim dividend of €0.03 per share to all shareholders as at close of business on 25 July. The dividend will be paid by not later than 10 September.

Updated Passenger Forecast for 2012

MIA also announced that it expects the positive trend in traffic results experienced during the first six months of the year to continue in the second half of 2012. As a result, MIA has revised its passenger forecast for 2012 from the initial 2.8% drop to a 1.5% increase which will lead to a new record of 3.56 million passenger movements – the third consecutive annual record.

Air Malta Restructuring

In the interim report, the Directors also noted their satisfaction with respect to the approval by the European Commission of the restructuring plan of Air Malta, which is MIA’s largest single client. This decision augurs well for the airline as well as for the future prospects of additional traffic to Malta. Nonetheless, the Board will continue to assess the situation of the national carrier on an on-going basis.

Sky Parks Business Centre

The Directors also commented that Sky Parks Business Centre will be receiving its first tenants at the end of July 2012. The revenue to be generated from this investment during the remainder of 2012 will be less than forecasted due to the delayed completion of the building. Likewise, the costs incurred will also be less.

 

Download a copy of the Malta International Airport plc – June 2012 Half-Year Results