CIAL bounces back from COVID impact, registers Rs 37.68 cr profit

Giving indications of a prosperous future, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has made a strong comeback from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation sector.

After having incurred a loss of Rs 87.21 crore during the FY 2020-21, the company has registered a profit (before tax) of Rs 37.68 crore for the FY 2021-22.

The board of directors met at Thiruvananthapuram with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the chair also decided to hold the Annual General Meeting of shareholders on September 26, 2022.

"The company has come back from a situation where it incurred a loss of Rs 87.21 crore in the FY 2020-21 against a turnover of Rs 252.71 crore," a company statement said here on Monday.

CIAL, which used to handle around 10 million passengers annually, had to witness a huge drop both in passenger traffic and revenue during the pandemic era.

"With the eventualities of the pandemic starting to wane, the management implemented new operational strategies and financial restructuring to improve connectivity and general performance.

Subsequently, the number of passengers increased from 24.7 lakh during FY 2020-21 to 47.59 lakh in FY 2021-22," it said.

The company said it made a turnover of Rs 418.69 crore for FY 2021-22; registering an operating profit of Rs 217.34 crore. The profit before tax is Rs 37.68 and net profit is Rs 26.13 crore.

"In addition to that, CIAL Duty Free and Retail Service Limited (CDRSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of CIAL has also increased its turnover from Rs 52.32 crore in FY 2020-21 to Rs 150.59 crore in FY 2021-22," it said.

The company said it is eying a total revenue target of Rs 675 crore for the current fiscal and the target worked out for CDRSL for the current financial year is Rs 270 crore.

The Ministers as well as Directors of the company, P Rajeeve and K Rajan, Chief Secretary V P Joy, Directors E K Bharat Bhushan, Aruna Sundararajan, M A Yusuff Ali, N V George, E M Babu, CIAL Managing Director S Suhas and Company Secretary Saji K George participated in the board of directors meeting.