Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) set new records in passenger numbers and flight movements in its fiscal year (FY) 2018-19, but it still posted a weaker financial performance for the period, according to the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) Annual Report 2018/19.
The airport welcomed 75.1 million passengers and handled 428,870 flight movements in FY 2018/19 ended March 31, 2019, registering annual increases of 2% and 1.3%, respectively. Cargo and airmail throughput, however, fell 0.6% to 5.06 million tonnes.
Despite higher passenger numbers and flight movements, HKIA saw total revenue fall 11.5% to HKD19.470 million (US$2.49 million) in FY 2018/19, down from HKD21.994 million in 2017/18.
“This was largely the result of a one-off gain from the sub-lease of land at HKIA for SKYCITY’s hotel development in 2017/18, coupled with lower revenues from retail concessions and airside support facilities in 2018/19,” said AAHK.
It added that the group “faced challenges due to geopolitical discord and global trade tensions” during the fiscal year.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) contracted 21.9% to HKD12.443 million, while profit for the year decreased 26.9% to HKD8.402 million and profit attributable to the equity shareholder slumped 27% to HKD8.339 million year-over-year.
As a result, the group’s return on equity decreased to 11.0%. No dividend was declared for the year, said the report.
Meanwhile, total operating expenses before depreciation and amortization increased 16.0%, to HKD7.027 million, mainly due to inflationary pressures, strong traffic growth and expanded service scope during the fiscal year.
On the outlook, AAHK said, “We expect passenger and cargo traffic will experience moderate growth until the commissioning of the 3RS [Three Runway System]. To meet rising traffic demand and retain our leading position, we will carry out various enhancement projects to ensure the airport has sufficient capacity and maintains high service standards before the 3RS is commissioned.”
During the year, the 3RS project continued to make progress and the AAHK is proceeding with the plan to commission the new Third-Runway by 2022 and the entire 3RS by the end of 2024.
Photo: Diego Delso
