Council to get share of £71.4m airport windall
GREATER Manchester’s 10 councils are to share a £71.4m windfall after a profit boom at Manchester Airports Group.
The group, which runs Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted, is two-thirds owned by the local authorities.
The money will be paid after the group announced its final year results, which saw operating profit up by 4.4 per cent to £217.1m.
The biggest windfall goes to Manchester City Council which will reap £39.3m while the other nine councils - Salford, Oldham, Rochdale, Wigan, Trafford, Bolton, Stockport, Tameside and Bury - will collectively pocket £32.1m.
The remaining dividend - £39.3m - goes to Australian investment fund IFM Investors. It means Greater Manchester’s 10 councils have received a whopping £110m from their part-ownership of the airport group.
Manchester Airport saw 27.9m passengers pass through its doors, a rise of 6.5 per percent on the previous year.
Across the group passenger numbers increased by 6.7 per cent to 58.9m.
The results for the year to March, saw revenue increase 9.8 per cent to £814.3. EBITDA was £360m, an increase of 4.8 per cent.
The group is paying out a dividend to shareholders of £110.7m, a £16.8m year-on-year increase.
Commenting on the latest results Charlie Cornish, CEO of MAG, said: “The world class connectivity that our airports are delivering will ensure that MAG continues to play a leading role in powering the UK economy.
“Manchester and London Stansted are the two largest UK airports with significant runway capacity and our investment will allow us to meet continued demand for aviation growth both in and out of the UK.
“The Government’s support for airports looking to make the best use of existing capacity provides a clear framework for growth, and it is critical that it now matches its backing for Heathrow expansion with specific and practical proposals to improve rail access and maximise the potential of airports like Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands.”
A highlights for the year for Manchester Airport was its long haul growth, with the Hong Kong route ●●Manchester Airports Group CEO Charlie Cornish (inset) said that they would continue to play a leading role in powering the UK economy increased to daily frequency, and new routes announced to Mumbai, Seattle and Addis Ababa.
MAG’s Property division generated a total income for the Group of £44.4m, boosted by increased interest in the Airport City Manchester site. MAG has a pipeline of hotels at Airport City North, which will deliver over 1,100 new rooms in a £180m hotel district. Meanwhile, 51,000 sq ft of office space was let to e-commerce business The Hut Group.
Looking to the future, Cornish said: “As the UK prepares to leave the EU, we are confident that the UK Government and the EU recognise the importance of providing confidence to passengers and airlines, and we welcome the commitment from both sides to putting in place a framework that will enable air services to continue post Brexit.
“Looking forward, our resilient foundations, healthy financial position and attractiveness of our UK airports will ensure that the business is wellplaced to respond to any challenges that may be felt by the UK economy in the future and we continue to take a positive long-term view of our prospects for growth.”