MIAA doubles profit in 2023

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) is ending its role as operator on a high note, doubling its profit to P4.02 billion in 2023 and raising dividends to the government by 15 times.

In its latest financial report, MIAA said its net income grew twice last year, from P1.9 billion in 2022, as the agency improved its revenue with aviation making a comeback.

MIAA is scheduled to transfer the operations and maintenance of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to a consortium led by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) toward the end of 2024.

Afterward, MIAA will be left with the task of regulating activities at NAIA. It will retain its fare-setting power on passenger service charges (PSC), meaning the concessionaire can ask for adjustments but the agency will decide on its approval.

This means 2023 was the last full year that MIAA was in charge of running the airport. For 2023, MIAA is expected to remit P2.26 billion in dividends to the government as part of its mandate as a state-owned firm.

Apart from this, MIAA will contribute P1.85 billion to the government as a share from revenue, as the agency is also required to turn over 20 percent of actual collections to state coffers.

When compared, MIAA handed over just P154 million in dividends and P1.43 billion in share in 2022, hinting that the agency is slowly but surely getting up from the pandemic.

MIAA submitted zero dividends in 2020 and 2021, as it incurred net losses at the onset of the pandemic with travel restrictions in place.

MIAA improved its revenue by 46 percent to P14.25 billion in 2023, from P9.75 billion in 2022, reaping the benefits of a resurgent demand for air travel. The agency also managed to control the rise in its expenses to 14 percent to P7.83 billion, from P6.88 billion.

NAIA facilitated the travel of 45.39 million passengers last year, an increase of nearly half from 30.94 million in 2022. Flight movements in NAIA went up by 26 percent to 279,953, the highest in history, as airlines mounted additional trips and new routes to serve the rising demand.

Under private control, SMC SAP & Co. Consortium is required to remit to the government 82.16 percent of revenue from NAIA operations, excluding PSC.

Further, the consortium will pay an upfront fee of P30 billion and annuity cost of P2 billion, on top of the P122.3 billion that it committed to invest in the upgrade of NAIA.