BR Shetty raises his stake in airport company
KOCHI: Yusuffali MA has become the second largest shareholder in Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) with 9.73 per cent stake after the Government of Kerala that owns 32.42 per cent of the Cochin airport, which has been hailed as the biggest success story in the private-public partnership (PPP) experiment of Kerala.
Though Yusuffali’s shareholding has not undergone any change during the year ending March 31, 2018, NV George, who used to hold 11.965 per cent of the company’s shares until a year ago (March 2017), sold 96 lakh shares during the year under review – between July 10, 2017 and March 31, 2018 – bringing his holding down to 9.45 per cent towards the year-end, thus placing himself as the third from the top.
Another leading NRI investor based in the UAE, BR Shetty, has also raised his ownership in the company by buying 75 lakh shares during the period from July 10, 2017 to December 31, thus raising his holding from a miniscule 0.33 per cent to 1.993 per cent.
Businessbenchmark.news is incapable of verifying any changes in the shareholding in the company thereafter, or for that matter, any other developments in the company, as CIAL never responds to this portal’s queries or phone calls.
The increased depreciation and interest payout due to the large investments and loans pumped into the construction of the sophisticated Terminal 3 has had their impact on the net profit that dropped 13.12 per cent – from Rs179.44 crore to Rs155.99 crore despite the growth in total income from Rs487.28 crore to Rs553.42 crore.
CIAL that enjoys a reputation for regular dividend payment has announced a payout of 25 per cent on its share capital of Rs382.5 crore – that works out a smart payout ratio of 61.31 per cent.
“Anticipating an increase in power consumption after the commissioning of the new domestic terminal and to ensure that the company continues to have the unique status as a fully solar-powered airport, steps have been taken to scale up the solar capacity to 40 MWp from about 29 MWp,” the company said in its directors’ report.
The construction of the new domestic terminal is almost complete. The total area of the new domestic terminal is 6 lakh square feet, which is a substantial increase from the existing area of one lakh square feet. The new terminal boasts state-of-the-art facilities including 56 check-in counters, 11 gates and 7 aerobridges.
The Cochin International Aviation Services Ltd (CIASL), one of CIAL’s subsidiaries, has secured approvals from regulators such as Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA- UAE), Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, Civil Aviation Authority of Bahrain, and DGCA – Kuwait, for line maintenance service.
