Heathrow Airport’s first quarter profits have grown to £187 million with passenger numbers and cargo volumes growing during the period.
Cargo volumes were up 4.3 per cent between January and March to 416,734 tonnes and by 1.5 per cent in March to 150,565 tonnes, while passenger numbers increased 3.1 per cent to 17.7 million.
Revenue increased 3.8 per cent to £680 million, adjusted EBITDA was up 5.2 per cent to £402 million and post tax profit rose from £103 million in the first quarter of 2017 to £187 million in 2018.
Heathrow’s chief executive officer, John Holland-Kaye says: “We’re delighted that passengers are choosing Heathrow in record numbers – it’s is a strong signal that we’re delivering value for money.
“We’re within touching distance of Parliament voting on expanding Heathrow and now more than ever we’re committed to developing and delivering a hub airport that Britain can be proud of for generations to come.”
Heathrow Airport is exhibiting at the Multimodal cargo conference in Birmingham and has opened the “Export Café” to show off the most popular British food items that are exported around the world.
Food on offer includes Cornwall’s Tregothnan tea and scones, Radnor Preserves jam from Wales, Walker’s Shortbread biscuits, smoked salmon from Scotland’s Marine Harvest and drinks from Ruby Blue of Northern Ireland.
The most popular food export in 2017 was salmon at 41,335 tonnes, with 62 per cent going to the US, the largest market, 22 per cent to China, six per cent to Taiwan, three per cent to Canada and two per cent to Lebanon.
Heathrow head of cargo, Nick Platts comments: “From tea to salmon, car parts to diamonds, the array of exports going through our airport is astonishing and shows we are the port of choice for valuable items that need to be delivered quickly to long-haul destinations.
“We are already the country’s biggest port by value, and with expansion, we can double our cargo capacity and play a bigger role in keeping the UK open for business.”
