Losses up at BAA London airports
30th July 2009
Losses have tripled at the three London airports owned by BAA, due to a larger pension fund deficit and falls in the value of Heathrow's older terminals.
The Spanish-owned company said that pre-tax losses totalled £545.7m in the first six months of 2009, compared with £135.3m a year earlier.
However, the firm said both the income from flight and retail operations had increased over the period.
It said that passengers on average spent £4.72, up from £4.39 a year ago.
BAA said it remained in discussions over the sale of Gatwick airport but said it was not reliant on a sale to repay loans due to mature in 2010.
The company has been ordered by the Competition Commission to sell three airports - Gatwick, Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport.
It also owns Aberdeen and Southampton airports.
BAA has appealed against the decision and said a hearing was due to take place between 19 and 21 October.
BAA said its pre-tax loss reflected exceptional charges of £255.2m, mainly due to increased liabilities of its pension scheme.
However, it said that it did not anticipate making additional payments to the fund in the foreseeable future.
Source: BBC