Auckland International Airport Ltd. posted a 15 per cent gain in underlying profit, driven by a jump in earnings from retailing from its new departures area and increased airfield income.
Profit excluding revaluations and other one-time items rose to $120.9 million, or 9.18 cents a share, from $105 million, or 8.35 cents, a year earlier, the company said in a statement today. Sales rose 9.6 per cent to $397.7 million. Underlying profit matched the forecast of Forsyth Barr analyst Jeremy Simpson.
Earnings are set to rise again this year, with profit forecast to "be in the $130 millions," according to chairwoman Joan Withers. The company counts retailers in the terminals as its biggest source of income and is also growing returns from car parking and property rentals. The airport has stepped outside its home market in recent years, investing in airports in Queensland and Queenstown.
The company will pay a final dividend of 4.7 cents a share, making 8.7 cents for the year, up from 8.2 cents in 2010. The shares rose 0.7 per cent to $2.23 and have gained 0.5 per cent this year. They are rated a 'hold' based on the consensus of seven recommendations compiled by Reuters.
Reported profit, the measure that companies used to regard as their bottom line before a recent blossoming of variations that exclude some items, was $100.8 million, up from $29.7 million a year earlier.
