BAA on track in first quarter

Gavin Lipsith

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The UK group's chairman has said the company's growth is in line with expectations as he hails a "remarkable" retail performance

UK airports group BAA has announced it is performing in line with expectations for the first quarter of the financial year. Speaking at the group's annual general meeting, chairman Marcus Agius pointed to BAA's forecast for traffic growth of 3.5% at its London airports this year, and growth in net retail income per passenger of more than 1%.

Agius also praised the group's retail growth last year, hailing as "remarkable" the increase in net retail income per passenger in light of space constraints, the weak dollar and the expansion of the European Union. He said BAA's progress was a result of constant innovation over the past few years.

"You can see this spirit of innovation at work in retail," said Agius, "where clever use of our passenger information database enables us to understand exactly what the customer wants, and to shape our offerings in response. That's how we have achieved a 14% increase in catering revenues this year."

Agius revealed that the fifth terminal is 60% complete, and on track to open on March 30 2008, as airlines introduce their summer schedules.