UK. Gatwick Airport today announced a record £250 million (US$310 million) annual investment in development projects as it released its interim results for the six months to 30 September.
The investment over the forthcoming financial year is part of Gatwick’s £1.2 billion (US$1.5 billion) “transformative” five-year capital investment plan.
Projects include:
- Expansion of both North and South Terminal departure lounges and shopping facilities
- A transformed railway station working in conjunction with Network Rail and more on-airport parking
- Strengthened operational resilience with additional pier capacity and optimisation of the airfield
In the first half of the financial year, net retail income rose +5.7% to £89.3 million, but net income per passenger decreased -0.8% to £3.57 due to a combination of “challenging trading” in the tax free category and a temporary loss of retail space as a result of redevelopment in the North Terminal.
Duty and tax-free income grew +2.5% year-on-year to £28.1 million. However, the airport company noted that “a continued challenging trading environment for duty and tax-free goods contributed to the overall decrease in income per passenger of 3p”.
Food & beverage, however, saw a +13.8% increase in income per passenger. Car parking income rose +11.9% and its net income per passenger increased +7.5% to £1.72 due to an increase in pre-book revenues and cost management.
The airport operator said today’s results show Gatwick stretching its lead as the world’s busiest single-runway airport, with passenger numbers +6.3% on last year.
Encouragingly from a travel retail perspective, traffic on long-haul routes grew +21 year-on-year with North Atlantic routes +40% up on the previous year.
The second half of this financial year has seen new connections to business destinations including Hong Kong and Moscow. Routes already announced for upcoming months include Thomas Cook’s route to Cape Town and Tianjin Airlines’ service to Xian, China, the UK’s only direct route to the home of the Terracotta Army.
Company revenue in the half-year climbed by +8.1% to £445.2 million. EBITDA rose by +9.8% to £264.5 million. Profit for the period was £105.9 million, up from £95 million a year earlier .
Gatwick Airport CEO Stewart Wingate said: “Gatwick represents the changing face of aviation – demonstrated by today’s results. We continue to grow strongly breaking records as passengers respond to the variety on offer at the airport, low-cost, charter airlines and full services airlines. All now flying more passengers on more flights to more global destinations than ever.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates Gatwick’s ongoing commitment to our development and growth, maintaining our vital role within the UK economy as we continue to offer the UK Government a credible and deliverable option for runway expansion.”
