The parent company of airports in Auckland, Cairns, Mackay and Queenstown has reported a 5.5 per cent increase in half yearly profits on the back of strong demand for international travel.
Auckland Airport said after-tax profits for the group rose to NZ$69.1 million (A$53.6m) for the six months ending December 31. Revenues were up 8.9 per cent over the previous year to NZ$215.9 million.
Passenger numbers reflected region-wide trends with rising international demand but mostly flat domestic figures. International travel was up 6.5 per cent at Auckland, 6.5 at Cairns and 30.1 per cent at Queenstown. Domestic numbers were up 0.9 per cent, 0.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively.
Only Mackay airport bucked the domestic trend, with demand for flights to mining centres pushing passenger numbers up 6.3 per cent.
The company said international passenger growth was especially strong from Singapore and China, with Auckland also seeing a boost in visitors from Europe during the Rugby World Cup in September and October.
