Sydney Airport’s earnings rose 12.5% in the first half of the financial year, as revenue increased and labour costs were slashed.
The parent company of Australia’s biggest airport, Southern Cross Airports Corporation Holdings, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding specific non-recurring expenses, totalled $294.1 million.
Total revenue grew 8.8% to $358.3 million in the six months to December 31 and aeronautical revenue was up 8.4 % to $146.3 million.
The continued expansion of airline services also helped the airport, with Jetstar International beginning three services a week to Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City and Honolulu, and two services a week to Bali during the period.
Jetstar and Virgin Blue also enjoyed strong domestic growth that increased passenger numbers through the airport.
Sydney Airports Corporation CEO Russell Balding said: “We were pleased by the upturn in international traffic in the second quarter and continue to work hard on our airline marketing initiatives.” “In addition, we continue to enjoy the benefits of the investment in commercial initiatives which the airport has undertaken.”
“In particular, the improved passenger experience delivered by the new retail offering at T2 is delivering strong returns and we look forward to a further improvement post the scheduled completion in the coming quarter.”
Sydney Airport’s retail operations improved revenue by 6.4% to $83.2 million and the airport said this was partly because of progress on the redevelopment of the domestic terminal, which was now 90% complete.
Car-parking income was also a significant contributor to the result, with operating costs, including specific non-recurring expenses of $68.4 million, an increase of just 0.1 per cent.
Lower labour costs were a major contributor, declining 6.6% to $16.58 million, with the airport saying several long-serving employees had left the company, reducing long-service leave provisions.
The company had also enjoyed lower security costs and its medium-term goal was to keep expenses flat.
Report by The Mole
