Why London Heathrow had a record performance

An all-time record of 60.5m passengers have travelled through Heathrow so far in 2018 as the airport delivered better value and service. Passenger charges fell 1% to £21.59 whilst 82% of passengers said they had an “Excellent” or “Very Good” experience at Heathrow

John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive Officer of Heathrow, said: on London Heathrow Airport latest financial results: “With the outcome of Brexit negotiations unknown, strong businesses like Heathrow must stand up to support Britain’s economy. We will expand Heathrow to boost Britain’s global trade for decades to come, and we are proud to protect Britain’s SMEs by maintaining our 30-day payment terms for all of our suppliers. No matter how small, suppliers should have confidence that they will be paid on-time for their services, and we call on other businesses to follow our lead.”

  • Lower charges and better service push Heathrow to record highs – An all-time record of 60.5m passengers have travelled through Heathrow so far in 2018 as the airport delivered better value and service. Passenger charges fell 1% to £21.59 whilst 82% of passengers said they had an “Excellent” or “Very Good” experience at Heathrow
  • New long-haul routes lift global trade – Trade flowing through Heathrow increased 1.5% to a record high of 1.3m tonnes, boosted in part by this year’s 5 new services to China
  • Robust financial performance – Heathrow remains in strong financial health as revenues climbed 2.3% to £2,211 million on the back of higher demand to fly and strong retail spend – supporting an additional £555 million of investment into the airport. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 1.9% to £1,372 million. Remaining competitive as we expand continues to be a key priority, with operational charges increasing only slightly after investments to boost resilience, security and service in 2018
  • Prompt Payment Code champion – Heathrow has reaffirmed its undertakings to the Prompt Payment Code to pay suppliers on time
  • Global appetite to invest in Heathrow stronger than ever – Nearly £1.6 billion raised from global investors during 2018, recently adding a 7th currency with a debut Australian dollar issue. Attractive financing lays the groundwork for entirely privately-funded expansion and builds Heathrow’s financial resilience ahead of Brexit
  • Heathrow pushes for a carbon-neutral airport by 2020 – In its aim to be carbon-neutral by 2020, Heathrow launched the first in a series of peatland restoration projects. The site in Lancashire will trap nearly 23,000 tonnes of CO2 over 30 years – equivalent to nearly 64,000 passenger journeys from Heathrow to New York. The project comes as Terminal 2 became one of the first terminals in the world to be powered by 100% renewable energy
  • Ground surveys for expansion begin – Progress continues in delivering expansion. Initial ground surveys of surrounding land began in September. With two further public consultations set for January and June 2019, Heathrow remains on-track to submit a planning application in 2020 and for the first flights to use the new runway in 2026

 

At of for the nine months ended 30 September 2017 2018  Change (%)
(£m unless otherwise stated)
Revenue 2,161 2,211              2.3
Adjusted EBITDA(1) 1,347 1,372              1.9
EBITDA(2) 1,441 1,435   (0.4)
Cash generated from operations 1,319 1,336              1.3
Cash flow after investment and interest(3) 364 305 (16.2)
Pre-tax profit(4) 229 212   (7.4)
Heathrow (SP) Limited consolidated nominal net debt(5) 12,372 12,749 3.0
Heathrow Finance plc consolidated net debt(5) 13,674 13,822 1.1
Regulatory Asset Base(5) 15,786 16,108 2.0
Passengers (million)(6) 59.1 60.5 2.5
Retail revenue per passenger (£)(6) 8.33 8.59 3.1

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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