BENGALURU: The Bengaluru international airport, which was the country’s most profitable earlier, has recorded a loss of Rs 55.7 crore in the financial year ending 2024, reveals a professional credit rating agency. Presenting a detailed report recently on all aspects related to the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which operates the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), the ICRA Ltd (formerly Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Ltd) has given it a ‘Stable’ rating.
BIAL is a special purpose vehicle formed to set up the KIA airport, the country’s third largest airport and the biggest in South India. It is held by FIH Mauritius Investments and Anchorage Infrastructure Investment Holding Ltd (Fairfax Companies, 64%), Siemens Project Ventures GmBH, Germany (10%), Airports Authority of India (13%) and Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (13%).
KIA had operationalised its second terminal, a nearly Rs 5,000 crore project, in early 2023. It began domestic operations at T2 in January and international operations in September last year.
Giving specific numbers, the report states that the Profit After Tax for BIAL worked out to a negative Rs 55.7 crore for 2023-2024 during which it operated on an income of Rs 2,4749.3 crore. For the previous year, it had recorded a profit of Rs 487.3 crore with an operating income of Rs 1,844.7 crore, it added.
As per the financial details for 139 airports furnished as a written reply in the Parliament in December last year for the fiscal April 2022 to March 2023, 93 airports were reported as loss making. The list revealed that Bengaluru was the most profitable airport in the country.
Regarding the AAA rating, the report said, “The rating considers the healthy scale of operations, supported by growth in passenger traffic, commence of operations at T2 and improvement in both aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues,” it said. The instrument of Proposed Non-Convertible Debentures for an amount of Rs 5,000 crore has been rated, it specified.
The passenger traffic at BIAL is projected to increase by 10% to 11% to around 41-42 million in fiscal 2025, it stated. It was 31.9 million passengers in FY 2023. BIAL concession agreement to operate the airport has been extended up to May 24, 2068, by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, it pointed out. The credit rating assigned is crucial because it spells out the creditworthiness of a concern which has a huge bearing on the credit that can be accessed and decides the interest rate to be paid.
BIAL refrained from any comment on the report.
International flights diverted from Chennai
Bengaluru: The closure of airspace at Chennai Airport for two hours on Sunday due to the IAF Air Show 2024 resulted in diversion of two international flights to Bengaluru. The air space in Chennai was shut from 11 am to 1 pm. A Chennai airport official told TNIE, “An Air India flight (AI 347) from Singapore to Chennai and a Malaysian Airlines flight (MHI82) from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai were diverted to Kempegowda International Airport on Sunday morning.”