Airports Company South Africa has released its financial report for the 2023/2024 financial year, showing an increase in profit after tax of 201% over last year.

The company achieved a profit after tax of R472 million (€24 million), compared with 2022/2023 when the company incurred a loss after tax of R466 million (€23,5 million).

Gearing also decreased from 24% in the last financial year to 17% this year, indicating a decrease in debt. This is Acsa’s first operating profit since the 2020 financial year.

Aeronautical revenue improved by 21%, reaching R3.6 billion (€182 million) compared with the R3 billion (€152 million) reached in the 2022/2023 financial year. The company believes that an increase in aircraft movements of 8%, a 16% increase in departing passengers and a 4.4% inflationary tariff increase led to this positive result.

Employee expenditure increased from R1.2 billion (€61 million) to R1.6 billion (€81 million) due to progress on filling vacancies that were created by the Staff Cost Reduction Programme introduced in 2020.

“The transition from the Recover and Sustain Strategy to the Innovate, Grow, and Sustain Strategy, as well as the revised Financial Plan, provided a structured management approach and a means of resourcing the business in a way that has enabled the Group to secure and safeguard its long-term sustainability,” Acsa said.

Acsa plans to use the cash reserves to fund the first two years of a R21.7 billion (€1.1 billion) infrastructure programme. “This is the largest allocation since the preparations for the 2010 World Cup,” said Acsa CEO, Mpumi Mpofu.