Manchester Airports Group confirms £2 billion investment plan after record year
Ilaria Grasso MacolaManchester Airports Group (MAG) plans to invest £2 billion in its airports over the next five years off the back of a strong year for the group, which saw passenger numbers rebound to exceed pre-pandemic levels and both profits and revenue soar.
MAG said the investment would help drive growth in the regions it serves by creating jobs and stimulating more international trade links through its airports.
The group, which owns and operates Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands airports, on Tuesday (2 July) posted a group operating profit of £240.1 million in the year to 31 March 2024, an almost tenfold increase from £28.6 million in the previous year.
Revenue, meanwhile, increased by just over 20% year-on-year from £1.03 billion to £1.23 billion, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) grew by 23% year-on-year to £507 million.
Passenger numbers grew to exceed pre-pandemic levels for the first time, with the group serving 61.3 million passengers across its three airports during its 2023/24 financial year.
MAG chief executive Ken O’Toole, who took over from Charlie Cornish in October 2023, said the results "demonstrated the vital role" MAG’s airports were playing in connecting people and businesses to the world.
“Our growing route networks are providing access to more than 200 destinations and we are committed to giving passengers the best possible choice to help them shape their journeys to suit their needs," he added.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, all three MAG airports saw their networks expand with new short- and long-haul routes. This included British Airways returning to Stansted for the first time since the onset of Covid-19, and Virgin Atlantic restoring its Manchester-Las Vegas link.
Data from the group reveals all three airports achieved record passenger numbers in the year to 31 March, with Stansted serving 28.5 million passengers, up 12% year-on-year, and Manchester 28.8 million, up 14% year-on-year.
East Midlands recorded the biggest year-on-year increase in annual passenger numbers, up 21% from four million in 2022/23.
Over the past year, the group has invested in both Stansted and Manchester; it secured planning permission to extend the terminal at Stansted and while doubling the size of Terminal 2 at Manchester.
“MAG has also continued to play a leading role in supporting the transition to net zero carbon aviation by 2050, and that will continue in earnest in the year ahead,” O’Toole continued.
“As an island nation, we know aviation has a critical role to play in the UK’s economic future. Aviation creates high quality jobs and enables global trade, investment and tourism, and we know that the UK’s economic sectors that will drive the most growth in the years ahead rely on global connectivity more than others.
“As the UK elects a new government, we look forward to working with them on an industrial strategy for the country that is underpinned by the sustainable growth of aviation."
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Ilaria Grasso Macola
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Place of registration: England and Wales.
Company number 08723341.
Registered address: 6th Floor, 2 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU
