Fact & Figures
Malta International Airport plc (MIA) was registered as a company on the 16th May 1991 (registration number C 12663) and commenced operations on 1st January 1992. Initially, MIA managed and operated the air terminal but was later entrusted with the responsibility of the entire airport. Before 1992 these activities had been undertaken by the Government's Air Terminal Department since the 1st January 1989, and before that by the Government's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).
On 1st May 1998, in addition to the operation of the air terminal activities, the Company also took over the operation and management of the airfield facilities as well as the air traffic control of Malta's Flight Information Region (FIR). The airfield services were previously the responsibility of the DCA that has since then retained a purely regulatory role. In the process of taking over such operations, the Company had also taken over from the DCA all personnel previously deployed in running such activities. Air Traffic Control was again separated from the MIA central structure in 2001. It is now an autonomous, government entity known as Malta Air Traffic Services Ltd.
The transfer of the operation of the airfield services from the DCA to MIA consolidated the operation and management of all airport facilities of Malta's only licensed airport and consequently crystallised the line of demarcation between the regulatory functions which are the administrative responsibility of the Directorate for Civil Aviation and the operational responsibilities for the Airport which are now entirely vested in MIA.
In July 2002, the Government of Malta signed an agreement with the Malta Mediterranean Link Consortium Ltd (MML) for the sale of 40% of Malta International Airport plc. The deal was worth Lm40 million (€93.16 million). MML is owned by Flughafen Wien AG (57%), SNC-Lavalin Inc. (39%) and Airport Investments Ltd, which is an associate company of the Maltese Bianchi Group of Companies.
The Government of Malta sold a further 20% of its shares in MIA plc by means of an Initial Public Offering in November 2002 and another 20% in November 2005.
MIA's core air terminal operations include general passenger services, and the operation of an extensive range of retail services at the airport, airside and landside shops, restaurants and other outlets, which are all operated on concession agreements. MIA also leases office space to airlines and other travel related operators at the airport.
Malta Airport is a member of the ACI-EUROPE (Airport Council International - Europe) and a number of company officials sit on specialised committees and working groups within this council.
Traffic Results 2012
For the third consecutive year, in 2012, passenger traffic at Malta Airport increased over the previous year reaching a record 3.65 million or 4.1% more than the previous year. Aircraft movements were marginally higher at 28,200 movements or 0.6% more than last year whilst cargo and mail handled throughout the year reached 16,489 tonnes or 1.6% higher than the previous year.
Air Malta had 1,660,545 passenger movements, registering a negligible decrease of 1.1% on figures registered in 2011, and which resulted in a share of 45.5% of total traffic. It is followed by Ryanair with a traffic share of 25.4% equivalent to 925,880 passenger movements meaning an increase of 17.6% and easyJet with a traffic share of 8.8% equivalent to 319,601passenger movements meaning a decrease of 6.3%.
Malta Airport’s main markets for 2012 were the United Kingdom with a share of 30% translating into 1,106,436passenger movements, +1.9% over 2011. This was followed by Italy with 17% or 619,575passenger movements, i.e. +0.5% over 2011;and Germany with 15% or 539,119passenger movements, resulting in an increase of 3.5% over last year.
Legacy carriers have increased their passenger numbers marginally by 0.8%, with their overall market share registering a decrease of 1.8 percentage points to 57% (62% in 2010, 58.8% in 2011). Low Cost carriers increased their market share by two percentage points to 36.4% (32% in 2010, 34.4% in 2011) with an increase of 10.1% in passenger movements. Charter operations have retained their 7% share from total traffic as in 2011 (6% in 2010) with an increase of 2% in their passenger movements.
Financial Results 2012
The revenue of the Group increased from €52.4 million in 2011 to €52.8 million in 2012. The revenue from the Airport Segment however, decreased from €39.2 million in 2011 to €38.3 million in 2012 whilst the Retail & Property Segment increased from €12.6 million in 2011 to €14.1 million in 2012.
The Earnings before Interest, Taxation Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) of the Group in 2012 increased by 4.05%; from €24.79 million to €25.80 million and the EBITDA margin increased from 47.28% to 48.84%. There was also an increase in profit before tax. Profit increased from €18.92 million in 2011 to €19.46 million in 2012, an increase of 2.8%. The total comprehensive income for the year attributable to shareholders net of tax for the Group also increased from €11.90 to €12.46 million, an increase of 4.71% over 2011.
Forecast 2013
Taking into account the most recent committed flight schedules, the Company issued its forecast in so far as passenger figures for 2013 at +1.5% over 2012, and it is now expected that Malta Airport handles c. 3.7 million passengers in 2013.
