Heathrow ups full-year passenger forecasts after bumper summer

Heathrow Airport reported a 12.6% increase in profit before tax to £696m for the first nine months of the year on Wednesday, driven by record passenger numbers during a bustling summer of sport and music.

The airport, owned by the Ferrovial-led FGP Topco consortium, said it handled 63.1 million passengers over the period, up 6.2% year-on-year, with the busy summer period seeing over 30 million travellers.

That surge prompted Heathrow to revise its full-year forecast to 83.8 million passengers.

Revenue for the period dipped 3.2% to £2.65bn, while adjusted EBITDA was down slightly by 0.7% to £1.54bn.

Despite the revenue decline, adjusted profit before tax reached £350m - a significant improvement compared to a loss of £19m for the same period in 2023.

Cash generated from operations stood at £1.51bn, a 1.9% decline.

Heathrow’s net debt also saw modest reductions, with Heathrow (SP) Limited’s consolidated nominal net debt down 1.1% to £14.63b and Heathrow Finance plc’s debt falling 1.4% to £16.57bn.

The airport’s regulatory asset base grew 2.3% to £20.26bn.

Despite strong operational performance and increasing passenger satisfaction, Heathrow was not forecasting dividends for 2024, though it said that remained subject to financial performance.

Looking ahead, the airport was urging the government to reform aviation policies and provide more support for sustainable aviation fuel, to position aviation as a key driver of UK economic growth.

The airport also announced the return of its ‘World of Opportunity’ initiative, offering British SMEs the chance to expand their international presence through trade grants.

“This summer has tested our colleagues, infrastructure and airlines to cooperate harder than ever before, with record numbers of passengers travelling through the busiest two runway airport in the world,” said chief executive officer Thomas Woldbye.

“We have risen to this challenge, delivering excellent service with over 91% of passengers waiting at security for less than five minutes.”

Looking ahead, Woldbye said the Autumn Budget was a “prime opportunity” to set the aviation industry up for long term success.

“Backing British sustainable aviation fuel through a revenue certainty mechanism and committing to joined up policy making that makes sense for aviation will supercharge Heathrow’s potential to deliver growth and investment for the whole of the country.”

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.