The Changi Airport Group has reported better revenue for its financial year ended March 31 2022, thanks to meaningful return of passenger traffic numbers.
While it is able to enjoy better operational earnings, its bottomline is hit by write-downs.
Specifically, CAG has taken a $201 million charge on its investments in Russia, due to “practical difficulties participating in its Russia investments’ financial and operational activities”.
CAG holds an indirect 30% stake in Transport AMD-2 (TAMD2) - a holding company in Russia that wholly-owns three airports in the country. It also holds an indirect stake in Russia's Vladivostok Airport.
It has also taken a $128 million deconsolidation loss on its airport investment in Rio de Janeiro due to the “deep economic recession” in Brazil which has made it untenable to continue operating there.
For its FY2022, CAG reported a loss of $838 million, an improvement of 12% over the preceding year’s $954 million. Revenue, meanwhile, was up 35% to $944 million.
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During the year, Changi Airport handled 5.2 million passengers for the whole of FY2022, just 8% of the pre-pandemic levels, but four times higher than FY2021.
In March 2022 alone, the airport handled 1.14 million passengers – equivalent to 20% of pre-Covid levels.
CAG chairman Tan Gee Paw says the past year continued to be turbulent as the aviation industry confronted new Covid-19 variants that kept the resumption of travel at bay.
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“Changi Airport and our overseas investments could not be fully immune to the evolving virus,” he adds. “We continued to strengthen our financial position and restore Changi Airport’s connectivity,” says Tan.
Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of CAG is bracing for new challenges even as the industry recovers, as many airports suffer from manpower and capacity “dislocations”.
“Our focus will be on ensuring that Changi Airport upholds its service excellence and core capabilities to be a well-connected, safe and efficient global aviation hub as travel starts to pick up,” he says.
According to Lee, Changi Airport now has direct flights to 125 destinations, which is more than 70% of the pre-pandemic levels.
