Beijing airport operator’s profit up 92% in first half

Beijing Capital International Airport, which operates the airport in China's capital, reported first-half net profit rose 92 percent from a year earlier, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The Hong Kong-listed company expects air traffic to continue to rise in the second half, with growth of international passenger throughput outperforming growth of domestic passenger throughput, it said in a statement.

Beijing Capital Airport is China's busiest airport in terms of passenger throughput. It overtook major airports such as Chicago's O'Hare and Paris' Charles de Gaulle last year to become the world's third busiest airport by passenger traffic, compared with eighth place in 2008.

As China's main international gateway, it handled 35.1 million passengers in the first half, up 13 percent from a year earlier. Cargo throughput reached 732,230 metric tonnes, representing a 11 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier.

Because of the increased traffic, Beijing Airport's total aeronautical revenue, which includes passenger charges, aircraft movement fees and airport fees, rose 12 percent to US$250 million.

The company's total concession revenue, including retailing, advertising, restaurants and ground-handling services, rose 35 percent to $96.96 m million from $72.05 million.

Net profit for the six months ended June 30 totalled US$29.74 million, up from $15.39 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 19 percent to $403.71 million from $340.35 million.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)