2013-07-31 — /travelprnews.com/ — MAG, the UK’s largest regional airport operator, announces its full year results for the year ended March 2013. The Group is pleased to report that it has had a strong financial year and has continued to make progress on its journey towards becoming the premier airport services business. At the end of the financial year, MAG was successful in its purchase of London Stansted Airport.
Highlights
- Revenue grew by £19.9m (5.3%), up to £393.1m (excl STN)
- Underlying operating profit for 2013 is £73.6m – up £8.1m (12.4%) on prior year and ahead of expectations (excl STN)
- Passenger numbers grew by 0.5m (excl STN) – outperforming the market
- Operating cashflow up 15% to £148.6m
- Significant growth in annual dividend of £42m (up from £20m – 2012) together with special dividend of £30m, giving a £72m total dividend return for shareholders.
|
2013 (excluding Stansted) |
Change % |
|
| Revenue |
£393.1m |
+5.3 |
| EBITDA |
£137.9m |
+5.3 |
| Operating profit |
£73.6m |
+12.4 |
| Operating cashflow |
£148.6m |
+15.0 |
| ROCE |
10.4% |
+0.7 |
| Market share |
15.9% |
+0.6 |
| Passengers |
24.5m |
+1.9 |
Neil Thompson, Chief Financial Officer for MAG, said: “This has been a transformational year for the airport group but again we have delivered strong passenger growth, improved our commercial performance but also exercised rigorous cost control and efficiency that has helped to deliver a strong set of results.
“From a corporate perspective, we’ve delivered significant growth activity including bringing a new partner on board with £890 million of equity investment, delivered new financing facilities of over £1billion and delivered the acquisition of London Stansted Airport. It’s been a significant year of growth and we aim to continue the upward momentum and value creation for our shareholders. As a result of this year’s success, we have been able to announce an increase in the dividend to £72 million.”
Business Performance
MAG has delivered a strong performance building on the successes of previous years and added a new shareholder, Industry Funds Management (IFM), to the Group upon the successful completion of the London Stansted Airport bid in February 2013. The Stansted acquisition is a significant step in the Group’s overall aim of becoming the premier airport services business.
There has been good cash generation which has been re-invested in infrastructure with cash from operations (excluding significant items and Stansted) increasing 14.6% to £148.6 million. Significant investments during the year have included a new £20 million control tower for Manchester and investments in security for additional hold baggage screening.
Corporate Progress
Significant developments have been made on the Airport City project at Manchester as outline planning permission was secured for both sites by January 2013. The Chancellor George Osborne also marked the start on site of the project and the first occupants will be announced in 2013.
Significantly, MAG delivered carbon neutrality for the airports of East Midlands and Bournemouth in 2012 and remains focussed on delivering the same result at Manchester by 2015. MAG has also released its annual corporate social responsibility report today.
The disposal of Humberside Airport during the year will allow the new owner to provide more focus on taking the smaller airport business forward and keep MAG’s ambition focussed on maximising the growth opportunities of its larger airports.
Outlook
The Group has doubled in size in the financial year and now serves nearly 42 million passengers through its ownership and operation of Manchester, London Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth airports. The property side of the business continues to add strength with a £500 million portfolio and its involvement in the £650m development of Airport City.
MAG has continued a global outlook by bringing IFM into the Group. They are a highly experienced, long-term investor in airports and have significant interests in nine airports across Australia, including five major capital city airports. The partnership ensures the Group is in good hands as it celebrates the 75th year of operation.
MAG’s approach to commercial activity has been positive and reflects well in the financial performance of the business so it can continue to grow its customer base and reach into new markets.
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