Belfast International Airport more than doubled its profits before tax in 2023, in a year that also saw it agree 10s of millions of pounds in new loans, its accounts have shown.
The company that runs the airport made a pre-tax profit of £9.5m off the back of much increased turnover, as the aviation industry continued its recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the company also paid out £38m to its French parent company, and has taken on around £100m of new loans.
There were changes at the top of Belfast International Airport last year, as Graham Keddie resigned as managing director to be replaced by Dan Owens.
Turnover increased by 34.6% as the airport said that it was exiting the “Covid-19 recovery phase”. The airport brought in £54.8m in 2023, up from £40.7m the previous year.
The increase came as passenger numbers began to approach pre-pandemic levels in 2023, which was the first year since 2020 without government health restrictions on the industry.
Operating costs went up by 20.6%, from £36m in 2022 to £43.7m last year.
Overall, this led to to a more than doubling in pre-tax profits, from 2022’s figure of £3.7m to £9.5m.
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The company is owned by VINCI Airports, which is headquartered in France and operates over 70 airports.
Belfast International paid a £38m dividend to VINCI in 2023. This amount is equivalent to 69.3% of turnover.
VINCI has announced a £100m investment over five years at the airport, including in new security and a solar farm.
The airport agreed to a restructuring of its debts in 2023, which see a decline in monies owed in the next 12 months but a steep rise in the amount of money owed over the following decade.
The amount of debt the airport has due within one year has more than halved from £44.5m in 2022 to £20.5m in 2023.
However the new credit facility the company agreed last year has seen it take on £70m in a commercial term loan, and an institutional term loan of £30m. The former is on a variable interest rate, whereas the latter is a fixed rate of 7.014% over 15 years.
The loans have been secured against a security charge over the company’s assets.
In the strategic report accompanying the accounts, the company reports a 24% rise in passenger numbers between 2022 and 2023, from 4,819,000 to 5,956,000.
The report adds that passenger numbers and volume are expected to reach pre-pandemic levels in 2024.