The botched launch of Heathrow Terminal 5, heightened security costs and the weak pound have almost halved BAA’s profits for the first half of the year.BAA owner Ferrovial said operating profits slumped 56.6% to €179m (£145m) on revenues down 16.4% to €1.57bn. Net debt fell from €17.8bn at December 2007 to €16.2bn.
Total traffic declined marginally by 0.4%, despite a 1.5% rise in long-haul, with passengers through the airports totalling 70.4m.
Ferrovial, which faces the prospect of being forced by the Competition Commission to sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports, has cut its stake in ADI, BAA holding company, from 61% to 55.9% as part of a £13.3bn refinancing of BAA.
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