- Heathrow lands strong passenger growth – Demand to fly from the UK’s hub hit a record high of 8 million passengers (+1.8%) in H1 2019, underpinned by higher passenger satisfaction and increased investment
- Award-winning service drives growth – Record-breaking passenger satisfaction saw the airport secure a place amongst the top 10 airports globally in the Skytrax Awards, as well as 82% of passengers rating their experience as either “Excellent” or “Very Good”
- Investing for the future – Heathrow has invested over £412 million to improve passenger experience, efficiency and resilience, including trials of security scanners which allow passengers to leave laptops and liquids in bags
- Air Passenger Duty Reform – Heathrow supports the goal of net zero carbon by 2050. We are calling on the UN’s aviation body ICAO to set targets for the use of biofuels in aviation, as recommended by the Energy Transition Commission. We also call on the government to invest some of the nearly £4 billion annual revenue raised from Air Passenger Duty to scale-up production of sustainable fuels
- Healthy financial performance – A 4.0% increase in Heathrow’s revenues to £1,461 million and increased EBITDA by 1.5% to £900 million. Adjusted profit before tax was also strengthened by lower net finance costs
- Strong appetite to invest in Heathrow – £1.4 billion raised so far this year as we build a war chest to deliver the £14 billion privately funded north west runway
- Expansion draft preferred masterplan unveiled – Heathrow unveiled its draft preferred masterplan for expansion – demonstrating how the airport will grow to over 140 million passengers by 2050, create tens of thousands of new skilled jobs and open up to 40 new long-haul trading links for Britain’s exporters. The airport has invited the public to provide further feedback on the plans which will be put into a final planning application in 2020.
“2019 is shaping up to be a strong year for Heathrow – our colleagues are delivering an excellent service to passengers, we’re investing millions to improve the airport and secure new skilled jobs for the future and we’ve set out our plans to expand Britain’s hub airport sustainably and affordably. We support the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and are working to ensure that global aviation plays its part”
| At or for 6 months ended 30 June (£m unless otherwise stated) | 2018 | 2019 | Change (%) |
| Revenue | 1,405 | 1,461 | 4.0 |
| EBITDA(1) | 887 | 900 | 1.5 |
| Cash generated from operations | 847 | 907 | 7.1 |
| Adjusted profit before tax(2) | 95 | 153 | 61.1 |
| Heathrow (SP) Limited consolidated nominal net debt(3) | 12,407 | 12,520 | 0.9 |
| Heathrow Finance plc consolidated net debt(3) | 13,980 | 14,145 | 1.2 |
| Regulatory Asset Base(3) | 16,200 | 16,420 | 1.4 |
| Passengers (million)(4) | 38.1 | 38.8 | 1.8 |
| Retail revenue per passenger (£)(4) | 8.62 | 8.75 | 1.5 |
Notes:
(1) EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization
(2) Adjusted profit before tax is adjusted operating profit after deducting net finance costs and before tax and certain re-measurements (including fair value gain / loss on investment properties and financial instruments)
(3) 2018 net debt and RAB figures at 31 December 2018. Nominal net debt excluding intra-group loans and including inflation-linked accretion
(4) Changes in passengers and retail revenue per passenger are calculated using unrounded passenger numbers
