MIA records €1.2m profit before tax in Q1 2022

Malta International Airport plc (MIA) reported a profit before tax of €1.2 million for Q1 2022.

The company published the financial performance of the Group for the first quarter of the year.

MIA turned around the loss of €3.1 million it had registered in Q1 2021 to register a profit before tax of €1.2 million for Q1 2022.

The first quarter of 2022 was off to a sluggish start, as the tightening of travel restrictions at the end of 2021 had repercussions on consumer confidence which extended well into the new year.

Passenger numbers, in fact, remained 44.1 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

Despite the slow start,  Malta  International  Airport’s continued caution in relation to cash management, allowed the Group to close the quarter with a revenue of €10.8 million.

This total was just over double the revenue the Group had generated in Q1 2021, when traffic for the first three months of the year had amounted to just 98,493 passenger movements.

The increase of 26 per cent in staff costs over Q1 2021 was driven by several factors including the lifting of a hiring freeze, which had been implemented at the onset of the pandemic, and the discontinuation of staff pay cuts which were in effect between February and April  2021.

The Group’s operating expenses, on the other hand, increased by 25 per cent as a result of a  busier operation in comparison with the first quarter of 2021.

The Group’s capital expenditure for the first quarter of 2022, which includes part of the investment in the complete overhaul of the airport Food Court, amounted to €1.2 million.

This project, the first phase of which was concluded last week, is expected to strengthen the retail and property segment, which is an important contributor to the Group’s revenues.

Earlier this month, Malta International Airport plc reported that April’s recovery was the strongest the Company had registered in the two years since the outbreak of the pandemic. This, together with  the  launch  of  a  summer  schedule  offering  solid  connectivity,  bodes  well  for  the  coming months, which will see Malta International Airport plc continue to work towards a recovery that

benefits all stakeholders as it sets into motion a number of large-scale projects.”