ID :
161573
Wed, 02/16/2011 - 16:04
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/161573
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MAHB MULLS INCREASING AERONAUTICAL CHARGES AT KLIA
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), which posted RM444.973 million (US$l43.53 million lower pre-tax profit for the year ended Dec 31, 2010 is considering increasing aeronautical charges at the KL International Airport (KLIA) going forward.
"All that we are asking is fair charges as this will help our bottom line. We want to look at our charges very competitively.
"Our neighbours have started to increase the charges and a lot of other airports are following," said chief financial officer Faizal Mansor at the financial results briefing Wednesday.
Currently, the KL International Airport charges RM51 (US$16.1) for
international flights, while Bangkok (RM80/US$25.80), Hong Kong (RM75/US$24.19) and Singapore (RM70/US$22.58).
Aeronautical revenue grew 9.9 per cent or RM78.2 million to RM868.7 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2010 resulting from higher passenger growth.
Of the total aero revenue, passenger service charges and passenger security service charges contributed RM524.2 million, up 4.8 per cent compared with 2009, while landing and parking fee contributed RM197.4 million compared with RM185 million previously.
Faizal said this was the best time to increase charges given the strong air travel demand, higher passenger growth and encouraging air travel momentum.
On new airlines coming on board to KLIA this year, he said, MAHB was talking to few airlines.
"Our yearly target is five airlines. With the industry performing well, we are positive on new airlines coming into KLIA. MAHB is looking at various parties, not just new airlines but also existing airlines that will increase their operations level," he said.
Sixty airlines are operating at KLIA, Malaysia's premier airport, to date.
On operating international airports in other countries, Faizal said MAHB was looking at two to three airports in the Middle East and around the region this year.
"Middle East will be the strongest region for MAHB. The bidding is quite at an advanced stage and we hope to announce by the first quarter of this year," he said, adding that the company was not going to confine itself to only emerging markets.
On capital expenditure for the current financial year, Faizal said about RM200 million to RM300 million have been allocated, excluding the capex for the upcoming KLIA 2.
The airport operator recorded a lower pre-tax profit of RM444.973 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM480.098 million registered in 2009.
The profit was achieved over a 10.7 per cent increase in revenue of RM1.812 billion for the eight consecutive year against RM1.637 billion registered in 2009, driven by strong recovery in air travel demand.
The decline in profit before tax was mainly due to the adoption of the Financial Reporting Standards 139 (FRS 139) Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, resulting in a higher share of losses in an associate company, Sabiha Gokcen International Airport Ltd in Turkey.
"Stripping out the effects of the FRS 139, the profit before tax for the 2010 financial year was RM500 million, 4.1 per cent higher than the RM480.1 million registered in 2009," he said.
In tandem with the strong recovery in the global aviation industry, MAHB posted a 12.7 per cent double-digit passenger growth, with a total of 57.8 million passengers passing through MAHB-run 39 airports in Malaysia, he said.
"The MAHB is seeing good traffic and earnings momentum going into 2011 as the company continues to benefit from the positive economic prospects in Malaysia and the emerging markets around the region," he added.
"All that we are asking is fair charges as this will help our bottom line. We want to look at our charges very competitively.
"Our neighbours have started to increase the charges and a lot of other airports are following," said chief financial officer Faizal Mansor at the financial results briefing Wednesday.
Currently, the KL International Airport charges RM51 (US$16.1) for
international flights, while Bangkok (RM80/US$25.80), Hong Kong (RM75/US$24.19) and Singapore (RM70/US$22.58).
Aeronautical revenue grew 9.9 per cent or RM78.2 million to RM868.7 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2010 resulting from higher passenger growth.
Of the total aero revenue, passenger service charges and passenger security service charges contributed RM524.2 million, up 4.8 per cent compared with 2009, while landing and parking fee contributed RM197.4 million compared with RM185 million previously.
Faizal said this was the best time to increase charges given the strong air travel demand, higher passenger growth and encouraging air travel momentum.
On new airlines coming on board to KLIA this year, he said, MAHB was talking to few airlines.
"Our yearly target is five airlines. With the industry performing well, we are positive on new airlines coming into KLIA. MAHB is looking at various parties, not just new airlines but also existing airlines that will increase their operations level," he said.
Sixty airlines are operating at KLIA, Malaysia's premier airport, to date.
On operating international airports in other countries, Faizal said MAHB was looking at two to three airports in the Middle East and around the region this year.
"Middle East will be the strongest region for MAHB. The bidding is quite at an advanced stage and we hope to announce by the first quarter of this year," he said, adding that the company was not going to confine itself to only emerging markets.
On capital expenditure for the current financial year, Faizal said about RM200 million to RM300 million have been allocated, excluding the capex for the upcoming KLIA 2.
The airport operator recorded a lower pre-tax profit of RM444.973 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM480.098 million registered in 2009.
The profit was achieved over a 10.7 per cent increase in revenue of RM1.812 billion for the eight consecutive year against RM1.637 billion registered in 2009, driven by strong recovery in air travel demand.
The decline in profit before tax was mainly due to the adoption of the Financial Reporting Standards 139 (FRS 139) Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, resulting in a higher share of losses in an associate company, Sabiha Gokcen International Airport Ltd in Turkey.
"Stripping out the effects of the FRS 139, the profit before tax for the 2010 financial year was RM500 million, 4.1 per cent higher than the RM480.1 million registered in 2009," he said.
In tandem with the strong recovery in the global aviation industry, MAHB posted a 12.7 per cent double-digit passenger growth, with a total of 57.8 million passengers passing through MAHB-run 39 airports in Malaysia, he said.
"The MAHB is seeing good traffic and earnings momentum going into 2011 as the company continues to benefit from the positive economic prospects in Malaysia and the emerging markets around the region," he added.
