Strengthening dollar could hurt price proposition, says ARI-ME

Dermot Davitt

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Pressure eases on margins but prices are less attractive to Europeans

The dollar has strengthened by 15-20% against the euro and other major currencies in recent months and many Gulf states' currencies are pegged to the dollar. Sutcliffe said: "It's likely that the rise in the dollar will hit us in some way. There are positive and negative aspects for our business. On the positive side, it takes the pressure off our margins when we're buying in non-dollar currencies. But it also has the effect of pushing up our prices from Europeans' point of view. So it will be a challenge to maintain our competitiveness."

Sutcliffe said all of ARI-ME's operations were performing ahead of budget to date this year. With its local partner CTC, the company has started retail planning for new terminals at Larnaca and Paphos airports in Cyprus. ARI is part of the Hermes consortium that won the Eu600m ($722.9m) contract to manage the two airports and build new terminals at each.

In Egypt, where ARI has a seven-year management consultancy contract with Egyptair Duty Free Shops, a new post-arrivals store in the City Stars complex in Cairo should open in the coming weeks.