Bengaluru Airport back in the black with net profit of Rs 510 crore

BIAL swung to profits in FY 25

Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) swung to profit in FY25 on the back of expansion of operations at the new Terminal 2 (T2). South India's busiest airport reported a net profit of Rs 510 crore against a loss of Rs 23 crore loss the FY24.

The airport, backed by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, saw revenue growing by 43 percent to Rs 3,732 crore in FY25, up from Rs 2,613 crore in FY 24.

The information is based on a note shared by the credit ratings agency Crisil. BIAL did not respond to Moneycontrol's request for details on the financial information that the company shared with the ratings agency.

Called the Kempegowda International Airport, the third largest airport in the country welcomed 41.88 million passengers, up from 37.53 million in the previous financial year, an 11.6 percent growth. It also surpassed 5 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of cargo.

Domestic passenger traffic saw a 10 percent increase, reaching 36.05 million, while international passenger numbers rose by 25 percent, hitting 5.83 million.

Crisil expects the momentum to sustain and expects a healthy growth of 8-10 percent over the next couple of years.

Heavy lifting by non-aero revenue

The company clocked non-aero revenue of Rs 1,029 crore, up from Rs 801 crore in the previous fiscal. The 25 percent growth was driven by higher-than-anticipated gains in the lounge and duty-free segments. The company also saw additional monetisation opportunities in retail and food, and beverage segments, with the expansion of T2 operations.

BIAL has cash and equivalent of around Rs 3,141 crore as on March 31, 2025, of which Rs 2,545 crore is unencumbered, against low debt obligation for fiscal 2026.

Watsa's Fairfax Group collectively own 74 percent of BIAL — Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings Limited (43.6 percent) and FIH Mauritius Investments Ltd (30.36 percent) — while the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (KSIIDC) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) each hold 13 percent.

“BIAL’s proposed capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 15,000-16,000 crore over fiscals 2025-2029, to expand its capacity and accommodate higher traffic. The capex is likely to be funded through debt and equity in the ratio of 80:20. Bulk of the capex will be aeronautical (aero) in nature and BIAL will undertake capex after the requisite approvals and/or considerations from relevant stakeholders,” Crisil said in the note.

BIAL is expected to generate aero revenue commensurate with the regulated return over this upcoming capex, in line with the business model, Crisil added.

India’s other leading airports

GMR Group-operated Delhi airport and Adani-operated Mumbai airport reported losses for FY24 and a re yet to announce numbers for FY25.

The Delhi airport reported a loss of over Rs 500 crore during the first nine months of FY25 and the trend may hold for the full fiscal.

The GMR-operated Hyderabad airport, however, had profitable FY23 and FY24. It also cloked profit during the first nine months of FY25.