BANGKOK — Airports of Thailand (AOT) has approved a refund of $5.6 million or 193 million baht to King Power Suvarnabhumi after King Power Suvarnabhumi gave up commercial land to facilitate the expansion of Suvarnabhumi Airport’s passenger terminal planned for 2021. King Power has agreed not to seek compensation, interest or additional costs.
On November 21, 2024, Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) announced to the Stock Exchange of Thailand its decision to proceed with the construction of the eastern expansion of Suvarnabhumi Airport’s passenger terminal.
As part of this project, part of the area outside the east side of the terminal will be reclaimed, on the second floor, where the former “City Garden” (later Food Stop) was located. This area was previously occupied by King Power Suvarnabhumi Co, Ltd (KPS) under a concession agreement for the operation of retail and service activities.
The concession agreement, which runs from September 28, 2020 to March 31, 2033, was partially affected by AOT having to reclaim the land. After King Power received formal notice from AOT, the company relinquished the specified acreage on July 30, 2021.
King Power then applied for a replacement space of the same size in the domestic terminal to continue its catering operations for passengers and visitors. However, AOT was unable to allocate a sufficiently large replacement space due to the current capacity restrictions.
At AOT’s board meeting on November 21, 2024, the board approved the reclamation of approximately 1,257,560 square meters from King Power’s operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport, representing 4.97 percent of King Power’s total concession area at the airport (25,307,260 square meters). The reclaimed space would be used for the construction of the eastern expansion, which would take effect retroactively from July 30, 2021.
As part of the agreement, AOT will reimburse King Power 193.08 million baht. This is the minimum compensation for the second year of the agreement (April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024) based on the reduced operating area. King Power has confirmed that it will not claim any further damages, interest or costs in connection with the reimbursement.
AOT Net Profit Surges 118%
Meanwhile, Dr. Kirati Kitmanawat, CEO of AOT, summarized the company’s financial performance for the financial year ending September 2024. AOT reported a net profit of 19.18 billion baht ($556 million), an increase of 118.21 percent, or 10.39 billion baht ($301 million) from the previous year.
Total revenue rose to 67.83 billion baht ($1.96 billion), an increase of 40.01 percent due to a 39.43 percent increase in revenue from sales and services. This included aviation-related revenue of 31.00 billion baht, up 8.73 billion baht (39.23 percent), and non-aviation-related revenue of 36.12 billion baht, up 10.25 billion baht (39.60 percent) from the previous year.
Total expenditure reached 40.52 billion baht ($1.17 billion), an increase of 18.33 percent (6.28 billion baht). However, the growth rate of expenditure was lower than the increase in revenue, so the ratio of expenditure to revenue decreased from 70.08 percent in the previous year to 59.71 percent, reflecting improved operational efficiency.
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