Back-in-profit Daa's 'full focus' on resourcing Dublin Airport

After cumulative losses of €387m during the first two years of the pandemic, the Daa group, which also operates Cork Airport, recorded a €98m profit in 2022 

Daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs said 2022 had been challenging for global aviation but Dublin Airport 'recovered well'.

Dublin Airport operator Daa has said its “full focus” is on making sure it is fully resourced in advance of a busy summer period, given the long waiting times experienced at certain points last year.

It comes as the UK’s biggest tour operator Jet2 said the demand for summer holidays is increasing, selling 7% more seats for this summer compared to last. The expected summer surge is also being seen by Easyjet, which recently raised its profit target for this year amid strong bookings.

Ryanair is also expecting to benefit from the rebounding demand for travel this summer.

Daa said today that it had returned to profitability after cumulative losses of €387m during the first two years of the pandemic.

In 2022, the Daa Group, which also operates Cork Airport as well as airports in Saudi Arabia, said it recorded a profit of €98m before exceptional items were taken into account.

According to Daa, passenger numbers in 2022 recovered to 85% of pre-pandemic figures, with 30.3m people passing through the two Irish airports in 2022, up from the 8.7m recorded in 2021.

The vast majority of these passengers, 28.1m, went through Dublin Airport. Cork Airport welcomed 2.24m passengers, which represents a 766% increase on 2021 and 86% of 2019’s passenger numbers.

The Daa said strong passenger numbers have continued through the start of this year and it is looking ahead towards a busy summer.

Daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs said 2022 was a “challenging year” for everyone working in global aviation due to the “sudden surge in demand for international travel” following the easing of covid restrictions.

As has been well documented, there were a number of key shortcomings with respect to the standards and service quality at Dublin Airport during the first half of 2022 but we recovered well and have enjoyed nine months of stability since.

Mr Jacobs added that 1,000 staff were recruited in 2022 and since last August around 90% of passengers have passed through security in under 20 minutes.

The Daa Group operates in 15 countries and encompasses retail management company Aer Rianta International and Daa International, which manages airports as well as travel retail in other countries.

The group invested €158m in capital expenditure in 2022, most of which, €156m, was in Dublin and Cork airports. The remaining €2m was spent on its international business.

Turnover at Daa Group in 2022 stood at €752m, up from the €324m recorded in 2021. The group’s operating costs for the year stood at €461m, while its net debt came to €840m.

Catherine Gubbins, Daa’s group chief financial officer, welcomed the return to profitability but said the board has decided “not to provide for the payment of a dividend”.

“The board also has concerns in relation to the group’s ability to pay a dividend over the next number of years,” she said, given the significant impact the pandemic had on its finances and the scale of capital expenditure required to address capacity challenges at Dublin Airport.

The Daa has also taken a High Court action against the Commission for Aviation Regulation as it seeks to increase the maximum level of passenger charges it can level on airlines.