Cork and Dublin airport operator to deliver €31m shareholder dividend despite rising debt

Meanwhile, Ryanair welcomed the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) regulatory ruling that Dublin Airport’s price increases do not comply with European regulations.

Cork Airport experienced the busiest year in its 62-year history for international passenger traffic. Picture: John Sheehan

Cork and Dublin Airport operator the daa is expected a to pay a €31m shareholder dividend, despite company debt more than doubling pre-pandemic levels.

This planned dividend will be the first delivered by the State-owned company since 2019, before covid precautions disrupted the tourism industry, as the company continues to benefit from ongoing post-covid pent-up travel demand.

However, company debt has totalled €1.6bn and the majority of this sum falls due between 2028 and 2032.

Th daa’s chief financial officer Peter Dunne added that additional debt funding is needed for “significant investment” into infrastructure that will accommodate growing passenger capacity across both airports as well as refinancing existing facilities.

The airport operator also posted more than €1bn in revenue for 2023. The milestone was reached as profit after tax and exceptional items climbed to €176m during the period, up 80% on the previous year. The firm also had a cash balances of €805m at the end of the year.

Daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs said the firm overall had a “very solid year” but added that the daa is “concerned about cost headwinds in Ireland”.

He said the company is “not able to respond to the airline demand to add more routes because of the cap at Dublin Airport”, while the regulated charges at Dublin are less than half the average of EU capitals.

“Some essential connectivity will be lost as airlines are already prioritising growth at hubs outside Ireland,” warned Mr Jacobs.

Elsewhere, Ryanair yesterday welcomed the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) regulatory ruling that Dublin Airport’s price increases do not comply with European regulations.

Daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs said the firm overall had a “very solid year” but added that the daa is “concerned about cost headwinds in Ireland”.

The ruling comes after Ryanair submitted a complaint last December to the watchdog about the daa’s 11% price increase at Dublin Airport for this year in a move to comply with the EU by introducing environmental incentives.

The airline argued the daa did not comply with EU pricing regulations.

Due to these daa price increases, Ryanair said it was forced to move its 19 Gamechanger aircraft out of Dublin to other lower cost EU airports that incentivise growth of so called ‘greener’ aircraft.

The airline said the daa and Dublin Airport must now scrap the price increases and introduce effective environmental charges to incentivise sustainable aviation at Dublin Airport.

The daa is State-owned but it receives no funding from the Exchequer and operates as a fully standalone commercial business.

Dublin and Cork airports accommodated 36.3 million passengers in total last year. A total of 31.9 million passengers passed through the two terminals at Dublin Airport, in compliance with the 32 million terminal cap as adjusted for transfer and transit passengers.

Cork Airport experienced the busiest year in its 62-year history for international passenger traffic, with 2.8 million passengers travelling through it in the year, a 25% increase on 2022 levels.

ARI, the daa’s global airport retail business, also grew last year with many of the 27 airports in which it operates achieving historically high sales turnover underpinned by strong passenger volumes and increases in passengers spend.