AAI expects net profit of Rs 3,257.28 cr in 2023-24, highest in 8 yrs

As the passenger footfalls are rising across the country, the AAI is expecting a substantial increase in the concession fees from eight privatized airports in India

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which operates over 120 airports, expects a net profit of Rs 3,257.28 crore in the current financial year (FY24), the highest in eight years, government officials told Business Standard. The government-run entity’s previous peak in net profit was in 2016-17 at Rs 3,115.93 crore.

“With consistently high passenger footfalls, the AAI expects a 10 per cent year on year (Y-o-Y) increase in net profit to Rs 3,257.28 crore in the current financial year,” an official said.

As its net profit is expected to boom in FY24, the AAI has already submitted Rs 700 crore interim dividend with the Indian government, officials noted. The final dividend amount for 2023-24 will be decided by June, with the full amount to be paid by then.

“AAI Board will take a decision following the extant guidelines of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM),” the AAI spokesperson told this newspaper in response to a question on what is the total dividend it foresees paying the government for FY24. The April-January period of FY24 saw a remarkable surge in domestic passenger traffic, increasing by 15.3 per cent Y-o-Y to 254.44 million. International traffic also experienced substantial growth during the same period, rising by 23.5 per cent Y-o-Y to 57.56 million, according to AAI data.

As passenger footfalls are rising across the country, the AAI is expecting a substantial increase in the concession fees from eight privatised airports in India.

Take the example of Mumbai airport, India's second busiest. The Adani Group-run Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has deposited Rs 1,420.07 crore for the first 10 months of the current financial year. "This is significantly higher than Rs 1,262.25 crore deposited by MIAL for the entire last financial year," an official said.

Indian carriers placed significant aircraft orders in 2023 to cater to the rising passenger demand domestically and internationally. Indian carriers, which currently have an order book of 1,618 planes, could end up ordering about 380 more aircraft by March next year, according to a latest report by aviation consultancy firm CAPA India. 

The new orders are going to come from Air India converting some of its 370 options to a firm order for every few months, supplemented by possible further orders by other Indian carriers, it said. When Air India placed an order for 470 planes in February last year with Airbus and Boeing, the Tata-run airline had an option to order 370 more aircraft. IndiGo ordered 500 planes from Airbus in June last year, making it the world's largest plane order.

“Indian airlines currently have an order book of close to 1,620 aircraft (after Thursday's Akasa air order, but excluding Go First and SpiceJet orders). This is expected to rise to about 2,000 aircraft by March 2025,” it added. 

The figure of 1,618 aircraft does not include Go First because of "uncertainty", it said. Go First went insolvent in May last year.