Heathrow Airport holds outlook as profit edges up
London Heathrow Airport has maintained its outlook for profit and passenger traffic as work continues “at pace” on a planning application for its third runway.
The West London hub anticipates carrying a record 84.2m passengers in 2025, up 0.5 per cent year-on-year.
But pre-tax earnings (EBITDA) are expected to decrease by 11 per cent to around £2bn as costs, particularly of servicing its debt, increases.
Heathrow on Wednesday said passenger demand for the first quarter had remained level year-on-year as it reported a 2.5 per cent increase in adjusted EBITDA to £454m.
Revenue rose 2.1 per cent to £825m, driven by more long-haul flying and improved property and retail income, which has proven a lucrative source of cash in recent years.
The increase came despite last month’s unprecedented shutdown, which resulted in more than 1,000 flight cancellations after a fire at a nearby substation cut power to the local area.
The airport’s debt pile continued to grow in the three months ended 31 March, rising 1.6 per cent to £16.9bn as it grappled with higher costs.
‘A pivotal year’
Adjusted operating costs jumped 1.6 per cent to £371m, which Heathrow said was driven by higher costs from PRM services, cleaning and maintenance, alongside increasing utility costs.
“2025 will be a pivotal year for Heathrow as we finalise our business plan for the next five years and submit our proposals to government to unlock new capacity at the UK’s gateway to growth,” Heathrow’s chief financial officer Sally Ding said.
“Our focus on steadily improving operational performance is yielding results, and our future plans will enable us to deliver better value and more growth for our customers and the country.”
Heathrow said work “continues at pace” towards the submission of its proposals for a privately funded third runway.
It is also under pressure from its airlines to make major changes to its business model, which has been described as “monopolistic” and bad for consumers.
The UK’s busiest airport still expects the third runway to be operational by 2035, with planning permission secured by the end of this parliament.