The airport company's 2017 annual report, released this week, showed revenue jumped 24% to $39million on the back of a 14.6% rise in passenger numbers to 1.89million in the 12 months to the end of June.
Reported profit was up 56% at $12.1million and underlying profit rose 17% to $12.3million, the latter calculated after the cost of appealing an adverse court ruling over depreciation claimed for the airport's runway end safety area had been adjusted for.
In July last year the airport company lost a dispute with Inland Revenue in the High Court over the tax treatment of the cost of constructing the runway end safety area.
Queenstown Airport Corporation chairman John Gilks said the company returned a dividend of $7.2million to shareholders Queenstown Lakes District Council (75.01% owner) and Auckland Airport (24.99%), up 14%.
That meant $5.4million was being returned to the Queenstown Lakes community, or $224 per rateable property, he said.
Passenger growth had been strong on both international and domestic routes. Domestic passenger numbers rose 15.6% to 1,360,158, of which a large share were international visitors travelling on domestic flights.
Passenger numbers on routes to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Coolangatta rose 12.1% to 532,285.
Fixed-wing and helicopter landings were up 12.5% on the previous year, and private jet landings increased 14.1%.
By the end of the financial year, all four airlines operating at the airport - Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia - had been certified to operate after-dark services, he said.
That had created employment at the airport and at businesses providing support services.
``Our airport community alone doubled within the 12-month period, growing from 350 people to 700 as most of the 60 businesses moved to double-shift operations.''
The airport spent $23million in the 2017 financial year on car parking, roading, runway grooving for improved wet and cold weather performance and the acquisition of 150ha of land next to Wanaka Airport.
By December, car parking capacity would have increased 70% over a 12-month period.
Significant progress had been made on developing the airport's 30-year masterplan, and it would begin consulting the community on the document within the next two months.
