MIA records €2.1 million loss in Q1 2021 with 60.4% drop in revenue

Malta International Airport recorded a loss after tax of €2.1 million in the first quarter of 2021, as opposed to the €1.4 million profit it recorded in the same period last year.

The company’s financial results for Q1 2021 show that MIA recorded a loss before tax of €3.12 million in the first three months of the year, as opposed to a profit before tax of €2.27 milliom recorded in Q1 2020.

Passenger traffic through MIA registered a drop of 90.2 per cent over the same period in 2020, as travel bans and restrictions, both locally and in source markets, remained in place or were introduced throughout the first quarter of 2021.

This drastic decline in passenger traffic impacted the Group’s total revenue for the first three months of the year, which decreased from €12.8 million in Q1 2020 to €5.1 million in Q1 2021, representing a drop of 60.4%.

Malta International Airport plc’s ongoing efforts to mitigate the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis were reflected in a decrease of €2.8 million, equivalent to a drop of 35.3%, in staff and other operating costs during the period under review.

The Group’s capital expenditure for the first quarter of 2021 amounted to €2.7 million. Total assets for the same period amounted to €229.47 million, down from €235 million in Q1 2020.

Cash and short term deposits dropped from €26.1 million to €19.83 million.

2020 was the first loss-making year for the group since the airport’s privatisation in 2002.

MIA’s passenger traffic for 2020 suffered a staggering drop of 76.1% as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions.

While revenue from the company’s aviation segment registered a drop of 74.8% in 2020, revenue from the non-aviation segment, which includes rents, parking, and VIP products, dropped 51.4%.

In contrast with 2019, when MIA closed the year with profit after tax amounting to €33.9 million, 2020 ended a net loss of €4.3 million at group level.