Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), operator of six major airports in Thailand, has projected at least 10% growth in revenue for fiscal 2019 ending in September this year thanks to continued tourism gains.
AoT's president Nitinai Sirisamatthakarn said the business outlook for this fiscal year is bright considering the strong performance in the first five months.
He said passengers using AoT airports between Oct 1, 2018 and Feb 28, 2019 rose 3.5% year-on-year and it projects 6-7% growth for the full year.
AoT operates Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai and Phuket airports.
Booming tourism in Thailand, which received more than 38 million international arrivals last year, has led to more air traffic at these six airports, pumping up the financial results of AoT last year.
AOT reported total revenue of 60.5 billion baht in its operating results for last fiscal year, ending Sept 30, 2018, compared with 54.9 billion earned the year before, up 10.3% year-on-year.
Revenue from aeronautical services stood at 34 billion baht, or 56% of the total and the balance went to non-aeronautical revenue.
Air traffic volume at its six airports was 874,999 flights, a 6.24% increase year-on-year, with total passengers of nearly 140 million, up 8%.
Mr Nitinai said AoT will introduce cargo service sometime next month. It is also considering establishing subsidiaries to operate new services such as security management at airports and ground service.
All these new operations will help raise AoT's revenue by more than 20% in next fiscal year and increase the revenue portion from non-aeronautical segment to over 50% of total income from about 45% at present.
Early next year, the agency is set to operate four more airports -- in Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Chumphon and Tak provinces -- by using some 3.5 billion baht for renovation and expansion, he said.