New finance to help meet Brisbane airport growth

08/04/2009

Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) has completed the refinancing of bank debt facilities, increasing from $300 million to $650 million. All BAC’s existing lenders extended and/or increased facilities, while new international and domestic banks were added.

Chief Financial Officer Tim Rothwell said: “BAC has a long term stable funding program in place with $1.4 billion of bonds maturing between June 2010 and December 2017 coupled with the bank facilities maturing in 2011 and 2012.”

BAC has invited banks and financiers to commence refinancing $350 million bonds due in June 2010, coupled with pre-funding $150 million of investment in the airport’s core infrastructure.

“We have been actively managing our cost program while carefully planning capital expenditure to match expected demand. The business is well placed to manage any fall in passenger numbers, despite little evidence of a significant decrease occurring,” Mr Rothwell said.

In the five years to June 2009, BAC will have spent $550 million on extensions to the international terminal, new roads and other infrastructure on airport.

BAC is currently planning $130 million expansion of the domestic aprons and $50 million on facilities for Jetstar are underway. The airport is planning a new 5,000 space car park, which is expected to start in 2010.

Subject to finalising negotiations with airline customers, extensions to the Domestic Terminal are expected to be complete in 2014 and a $1.3 billion parallel runway in 2020, both projects now starting two years later than previously anticipated.

BAC is focused on supporting airlines to reduce airport costs and generating greater efficiencies from current infrastructure combined with the optimal timing and design of new infrastructure.

The recent ACCC Regulatory Financial Report ranked Brisbane Airport as the best Australian airport in terms of service for the fifth successive year, based on surveys of passenger, airlines and government agencies, This is combined with airlines paying the lowest average prices per passenger at Brisbane Airport, compared to the other major Australian airports.

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