Aeroports de Montreal announces its results for the third quarter of 2013

Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) has announced its consolidated financial results for the three- and nine-month periods ended Sept. 30, 2013. These results are accompanied by data on passenger traffic and aircraft movements at Montréal-Trudeau and Montréal-Mirabel international airports.

Passenger traffic at Montréal-Trudeau increased by 3.7% for the third quarter and 1.9% for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2013, compared with the corresponding periods of 2012.

EBITDA (excess of revenues over expenses before financial expenses, income taxes and depreciation) totaled $61.0 million for the third quarter, an increase of $3.1 million, or 5.4%, over the third quarter of 2012. EBITDA stood at $158.5 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2013, up $5.1 million, or 3.3%, over the same period a year earlier.

The Corporation invested a total of $54.5 million during the third quarter of 2013 and $110.9 million for the nine months. Investments in the airports were financed by cash flows from airport operations, including airport improvement fees (AIFs).

Consolidated revenues amounted to $119.5 million for the third quarter of 2013, an increase of $4.3 million, or 3.7%, over the same year-earlier period. Accumulated revenues as at Sept.30, 2013, rose by $8.3 million, or 2.5%, from $331.9 million for the nine months of 2012 to $340.2 million for the same period of 2013. This improvement is mainly attributable to higher aeronautical fees.

Operating costs for the quarter under review totalled $36.1 million, up $0.6 million, or 1.7%, from the corresponding period of 2012. Operating costs for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2013, increased by 2.4%, from $115.2 million in 2012 to $118.0 million for the same period of 2013. This variance is due, among other factors, to increases in certain operating expenses, particularly energy costs, and to higher salaries, including pension costs.

Depreciation amounted to $25.3 million for the third quarter, up $2.1 million, or 9.1%, over the same year-ago quarter. For the nine months ended Sept.30, 2013, depreciation totaled $74.4 million, up $6.5 million, or 9.6%, from the corresponding 2012 period. The main reason for this rise was the commissioning of facilities built in 2012.

Financial expenses totaled $22.3 million for the third quarter and $66.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, up respectively by $1.7 million, or 8.3%, and $2.9 million, or 4.6%, against the same periods of 2012. These variances are mainly attributable to the issuance of a new series of revenue bonds in Sept. 2012.

Income taxes recovered totaling $1.1 million arise from the reversal of a tax provision related to a foreign investment held by the subsidiary ADM Capital.

The quarter ended Sept.30, 2013, generated an excess of revenues over expenses of $13.0 million, compared with an excess of $13.9 million for the corresponding quarter of 2012. The excess of revenues over expenses for the nine-month period ended Sept.30, 2013, was $17.4 million, against an excess of $20.8 million for the same period of 2012.

EBITDA is a financial measurement that is not recognized by IFRS and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other corporations. EBITDA is meant to provide additional information and should not be considered as a substitute for other performance measurements prepared in accordance with IFRS. EBITDA is used by management as an indicator to evaluate ongoing operational performance.

EBITDA is defined by the Corporation as excess of revenues over expenses before financial expenses, income taxes, depreciation and gain on other financial assets. Calculation of EBITDA takes into account certain financial expenses included in operating expenses (net of certain interest income included in revenues), which total $0.4 million for the third quarter of 2013 ($0.2 million in 2012), and $1.3 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30 ($1.1 million in 2012).

Total passenger traffic at Montréal-Trudeau grew by 3.7% during the third quarter of 2013 from the corresponding year-earlier quarter, to 4.0 million passengers. International traffic increased by 4.1%, domestic traffic by 3.7% and transborder (U.S.) traffic by 3.2% compared with the same date last year. The month of August was especially active, with a jump of 6.1% in passenger traffic, due among other factors to favourable flight schedules and a marked increase in connecting traffic. For the nine months, traffic at Montréal-Trudeau totaled 10.9 million passengers, an increase of 1.9% compared with the same period last year.

Overall aircraft movements at both ADM airports decreased by 3.4% in the third quarter of 2013, to 61,591 movements, compared with 63,748 for the same period last year. There were a total of 178,452 aircraft movements during the nine months of 2013, a 2.8% decline from the same period of 2012.