Profits up at Manchester Airport Group
The owner of Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth airports saw profits rise by £7 million in the year to March.
Manchester Airport Group’s results were boosted by a 4.3% increase in passenger numbers to a total of 43.8 million, leading to higher earnings of £242 million for the year.
MAG chief financial officer Neil Thompson said: "The group has delivered another strong year of financial performance, exceeding its financial targets and delivering continued growth.
"We’ve secured an increase of 4.3% in passenger volumes, and through continued focus on commercial drivers and operational efficiencies, have delivered significant growth and increased earnings of £242 million for the year.
"The announcement of the first direct link between Manchester and China was significant and we have continued to perform well adding long-haul routes such as Charlotte, Jeddah, and Toronto at Manchester for this summer.
"There has also been an extension of European and short-haul connectivity with important route announcements from the likes of Ryanair, EasyJet, Thomson Airways, Thomas Cook and Monarch at our airports.
"The initial integration of Stansted into MAG has been successfully completed and the wide-ranging development and investment into the airport is well underway.
"The significant activity at Stansted and across MAG this year will generate continued strong performance and growth in 2014-15 and beyond."
Thomas Cook will launch the first direct long-haul routes from Stansted with services to Las Vegas, Cancun and Orlando next summer.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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