Auckland Airport cautions market about revenue forecast

Auckland International Airport Ltd (AIAL) is cautioning about the market consensus of about $104 million for the retail component of its revenue for the 2010 financial year.

The company said today it believed a more likely retail revenue forecast was in the range $90m to $93m.

It appeared that the market was not sufficiently allowing for some factors, Auckland Airport said.

Those included the impact of the reversion to a dual operator duty free model which sacrificed the benefits in terms of scale, penetration and range associated with the single operator model and required the second operator to establish its market position.

Other factors were declining international passenger volumes and reduced consumer spending resulting from the global downturn, and disruption due to construction in the departures area.

The company said earnings guidance provided for the 2009 financial year was unchanged.

- NZPA