Queenstown Lakes District Council coffers will be boosted by just over $5 million this month, thanks to Queenstown Airport.
The airport has declared a $7m dividend for the first half of the financial year — as majority shareholder, the council will receive $5.2m, the balance going to Auckland International Airport Ltd (AIAL).
Chairman Simon Flood said the business had started the financial year well, with a strong financial performance and significant progress towards its strategic goals.
The interim report for the six months to December 31, 2024, show revenue of $40.4m, up 22% on the same period the previous year, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $29.5m and net profit after tax of $16.2m — an increase of 27%.
Scheduled aircraft movements during the period totalled 9848 and passenger movements came to 1,343,006.
That represented a 6% increase compared with the same period the previous year
Mr Flood noted the growth in passenger numbers was driven by continued demand for travel to and from Queenstown, transtasman numbers being particularly strong.
Looking ahead, he said the company would complete the most significant capital investment programme in the airport’s 90-year history over the coming years, describing its master plan as a “key strategic focus”.
The first cab off the rank was the $23m engineered materials arresting system, work on which began last October — Queenstown Airport was the first airport in Australasia to adopt the technology, designed to safely stop an aircraft that overshot a runway.
“We are pleased to report the project is running on time and on budget,” Mr Flood said.
Detailed development and organisational planning was under way for other aspects of the master plan, and capital investment planning, procurement and programme delivery was to follow.
Airport chief executive Glen Sowry, who finishes in his role at the end of this financial year, said good progress had been made on other key areas of focus, including sustainability and projects to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
The organisation’s decarbonisation plan had led to a 71% reduction in emissions compared with 2019, the baseline year, and it had successfully transitioned from Toitū Envirocare to the globally recognised Airport Carbon Accreditation, entering the latter at “Level 4+”, the second-highest tier.
Meanwhile, chairwoman Adrienne Young-Cooper stepped down from the board at October’s annual meeting, having served the maximum two terms, and Mark Thompson, AIAL’s representative since June 2017, left at the end of December.
Two new directors had subsequently joined the board: Wanaka’s Dr Don Elder, appointed by the council, and Auckland Airport’s chief strategic planning officer Mary-Liz Tuck.
Mr Flood said the board had appointed Johnson Partners to lead the search for a new chief executive, and the recruitment process was “well under way”.
“It is pleasing to see the high level of interest in the role, and the board will make an appointment announcement in due course.” — APL
