Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) posted a 4.5% rise in net profit for the fiscal year that ended in September, buoyed by robust tourism-driven growth in air traffic.
The state-controlled airport operator earned 19.75 billion baht in the year, making it one of the most profitable state enterprises, aided largely by the oligopoly.
Its revenue for the fiscal year shot up 16% to 52.78 billion baht, compared with 45.50 billion in the previous year, according to its filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Passengers passing through the six AoT-run airports, including gateway Suvarnabhumi and low-cost carrier hub Don Mueang, soared 12.3% year-on-year to 119.92 million, consisting of 68.06 million international and 51.86 million domestic.
Aircraft movements through the airports rose in tandem, up 9.8% to 776,922, comprising 402,721 international flights and 374,201 domestic flights.
Poolsiri Virojanapa, senior executive vice-president for accounting and finance, attributed the country's stable political situation, soft fuel prices, the state's tourism promotion drive, the influx of Chinese tourists and the expansion of low-cost carriers with their competitive pricing for boosting air traffic through AoT airports.
Its top three main sources registered double-digit growth in the year.
Collection of passenger service charges jumped by 12.3% to 21.96 billion baht.
Concession earnings, fees charged to operators of various facilities at the airports such as duty-free stores, soared 16.1% to 13.62 billion baht.
Landing and parking charges rose 12% to 6.43 billion baht to reflect the growth in aircraft movements through the airports, especially low-cost airlines whose flight numbers increased by 13.8%.
AOT shares closed yesterday on the SET at 402 baht, up 13 baht, in trade worth 6.13 billion baht.