Airports top Infratil agenda

By CHRIS DANIELS

Airports and how to make money out of them is top of the agenda for Infratil shareholders today, as they meet to vote on a plan to take up 100 per cent ownership of Glasgow Prestwick airport.

They will no doubt be pleased with the latest passenger figures from the company's two-thirds owned Wellington Airport.

The long-term trend of declining international passenger numbers ended in November last year and was helped by the first month of Air NZ's Tasman Express service. December passenger numbers increased by 9 per cent compared with the same month the previous year.

Domestic passenger numbers had record growth last year of 11.4 per cent because of the success of Air NZ's Express Class.

The plan to buy the last 33 per cent of Prestwick airport hit a snag last week, when the company made a surprise profit downgrade, saying that increased passenger numbers was not translating into better earnings.

Utilico Investment Trust, one of Infratil's big shareholders, is selling the Prestwick shares, making it a "related party transaction" that requires shareholder approval.

Following the Prestwick earnings downgrade Infratil's independent directors negotiated a cheaper price to be offered for the Utilico shares.

Prestwick makes up about 20 per cent of Infratil's investment portfolio.