Thread: Airports of Thailand turns to Q1 profit, below f'cast

Airports of Thailand turns to Q1 profit, below f'cast
(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Alan Raybould)

BANGKOK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Airports of Thailand PCL (AOT) AOT.BK reported a quarterly net profit of 798 million baht ($24.05 million) on Monday due to foreign exchange gains plus an increase in traffic as the economy and tourism recovered.

Its October-December first-quarter profit turned round from a loss of 1.68 billion baht a year earlier caused by the global slowdown plus airport closures in Thailand due to political protests.

The quarterly profit from majority state-owned AOT, which runs six airports, compared with a 750 million baht net loss in the previous quarter.

It fell short of an average 1.18 billion baht net profit by three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

The country's main airport operator expects to report better net earnings for its 2009/2010 business year, which runs until September, than the 717 million baht it made a year earlier.

AOT shares fell 7.7 percent in the October-December quarter, underperforming a 2.4 percent gain in the main Thai SET .SETI index for the quarter.

($1=33.18 Baht)

reuters.com

Airports Of Thailand Swings To Q3 Net Loss
August 16, 2010

Airports of Thailand reported a higher-than-expected net loss in the third-quarter on Monday, due mainly to foreign exchange losses and weak air travel demand during a period of civil unrest.

Majority state-owned AOT, which runs six airports, said in a statement it made a net loss of THB516.2 million baht (USD$16.2 million) in the April-June quarter, versus THB1.31 billion net profit a year earlier.

Analysts expect passenger number to recover as political tensions ease and due to the start of the high season for tourism in the last quarter of its financial year ending September.

news.airwise.com