AAI's gross profit declines by Rs 27cr

The gross profit of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has declined marginally by Rs 27 crore to Rs 1,337 crore in 2012-13 compared to last year's, though its revenue has gone up substantially by over Rs 1,000 crore during this period.
During 2012-13, the AAI earned revenue of Rs 6,917 crore compared to Rs 5,879 crore in the previous year, while it earned a pre-tax profit of Rs 1,337 crore as against Rs 1,364 crore in 2011-12, an AAI spokesperson said.
The state-run airports body declared a reduced dividend of Rs 147 crore in 2012-13 compared to Rs 171.90 crore in the previous year, he said.

A dividend cheque of Rs 147 crore was presented to the Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh by AAI Chairman V P Agrawal today.
The spokesperson said the pre-tax profit declined primarily due to the rise in operating expenses and security operating expenses and "substantial investment" in creation of infrastructure during the previous years.
The AAI spent Rs 1,800 crore in 2012-13 and another Rs 2,095 crore in 2011-12 on modernising its airport terminals, passenger facilities and Air Traffic and Navigational Aids.
On top of this, the airport tariffs have not been revised since 2003, barring Kolkata and Chennai airports which were enhanced from March this year. Another major factor was the closure of Kingfisher Airlines, which has a large amount as unpaid dues.

All these factors impacted the revenue of AAI, the spokesperson said.