MAG, the UK’s leading airport group, has reported its audited full-year results for the period 1st April 2018 – 31st March 2019 as revenue hit £889.4m, an annual increase of 8.7%
MAG – Manchester Airports Group – own and operate three UK airports: Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted where group passengers numbers rose by 4.9%* to 61.8m across its three UK airports.
However, continuing Brexit-related uncertainty is creating a more challenging outlook for the Group in terms of economic growth and passenger demand.
Group adjusted EBITDA increased to £379.8m (+5.9%*), supporting a significant programme of investment in new facilities and infrastructure at Manchester and London Stansted.
Over the last year, the Group has invested £591m, a 73% increase over the previous year including Manchester Airport’s Transformation Programme (MAN-TP), which started in July 2017 and continued apace throughout the year. At the end of the period, the first phase of new facilities was opened to passengers on time, less than 18 months after construction began.
Manchester Airport saw passenger numbers grow to 28.6m, driven by extra aircraft from Ryanair and Jet2.com, additional capacity from Thomas Cook Airlines and easyJet, and new long-haul routes to Africa and North America.
MAG’s American business, MAG-USA, is establishing a real presence, offering lounge products and parking services to US airports. Eight MAG lounges are now operational in the USA, with the first US airports now also using MAG’s online car park booking platform to help them operate and manage their car parks.
MAG CEO, Charlie Cornish, said:
“MAG continues to play a vital role in connecting different parts of the country to key global markets. The investments we are making in our facilities will allow them to play an even bigger role in the years to come. We are matching that capital investment with a focus on the experience that every one of our passengers has as they travel through our terminals, something we are looking to make as smooth as possible.
“By improving international connectivity to different regions, MAG airports will do far more to secure economic growth and rebalancing across the UK than a third runway at Heathrow will. The Government must now show an active commitment to supporting the future growth of airports like Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands.
“To achieve this, the Government must support the delivery of better transport links to airports across the country as part of an integrated plan to grow global connections from the North, Midlands and the South.
“We welcome the Government and EU’s commitment to maintaining vital air connectivity between the UK and Europe even in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, something which allows passengers to book and travel with confidence.
“But continued uncertainty about Brexit will ultimately act as a drag on the economy and damage consumer confidence. It is vital that the Government finds a political solution to Brexit over the coming months to enable the country to move forward and to rebuild consumer confidence.”
*Excluding figures for Bournemouth Airport which MAG sold in December 2017.