Aug 20 (Reuters) - Auckland International Airport Ltd
on Thursday scrapped its final dividend and posted a
steep fall in full-year profit, as coronavirus-related
restrictions led to fewer flights.
The pandemic has battered the airline and tourism
industries, as stringent border controls and restriction on
people's movement to curb the spread of the virus upend demand,
which has triggered a downturn for airport operators.
Earlier this year, Auckland Airport scrapped its interim
dividend, slashed capacity and jobs and raised cash to tide
itself over the pandemic.
"As we look to the 2021 financial year, we continue to face
significant uncertainty on the timing of Auckland Airport's
recovery," Chief Executive Adrian Littlewood said in a
statement.
New Zealand's biggest airport operator also chose not to
provide earnings forecast for 2021, citing uncertainty around
recovery in international passenger numbers and ongoing curbs on
people's movement.
Underlying profit after tax for the year ended June 30 fell
31.4% to NZ$188.5 million ($123.54 million) from NZ$274.7
million last year, but beat estimates of NZ$167.8 million,
according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Auckland Airport said it would reassess its decision on its
2021 forecast at its annual meeting in October and with its
interim results in February 2021.
($1 = 1.5258 New Zealand dollars)
(Reporting by Yajush Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli)