IFT - Infratil

[Zaphod]

quote:Originally posted by BRICKS

WHEN IFT got the bus company did the get the Trolley bus bit as WELL.. [8D]

Too true! I'd forgotton about the trolly buses. [:I]

[Toddy]

Good news. The new trolley bus deal was signed off by the Comcom. That should tie up the Central Wellington bus contract for a good few years.

http://www.infratil.com/2/6150.htm

[Toddy]

Glasgow Prestwick Airport got some free exposure for their freight division on all of the U.K news channels tonight.

The Americans have been using the airport to freight bombs to Israel over recent days. The U.K are a little upset about it because they say that the Americans should have asked for permission, which they would not have given.

[Toddy]

IFT had their agm and released the first quarter results on Monday.

All is well down at the office. TPW is growing, Stagecoach exceeded expectations and the Australian Energy assets have started to turn a profit. The European Airports business came in flat as income from Glasgow offset the new purchases. All in all, the market should like what it sees and its not too difficult to visualise where IFT's growth is coming from for the indefinate future.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/st...ectid=10395086

[CJ]

Agree with all their investments going well - they just need CC to reverse Mana decision so they can buy off the investment bankers.

[CJ]

quote:Originally posted by CJ

Agree with all their investments going well - they just need CC to reverse Mana decision so they can buy off the investment bankers.

As expected they are appealing. Rumour in the industry is that Bancorp is only warehousing the shares to stop other bus companies which are interested in getting into wellington from pursuing.

quote:NZ Bus to appeal Mana Bus decision
14 August 2006
By SUE ALLEN

New Zealand Bus, an offshoot of Infratil, says it is appealing against a court decision relating to an attempted purchase of Mana Coach Services earlier this year.

But a two-day hearing to set penalties for breaching the Commerce Act will go ahead in Wellington High Court from today.

Problems started for New Zealand Bus, which trades as Stagecoach, in January when it applied to the commission for clearance to buy rival local bus operator Mana Bus.

New Zealand Bus later withdrew the application, prompting a Commerce Commission inquiry and an application for an injunction to stop the purchase on the basis it would substantially lessen competition.

New Zealand Bus operates under the Stagecoach Wellington, Cityline Hutt Valley and Runciman Motors brands.

In June, Justice Forrie Miller ruled in favour of the Commerce Commission, saying New Zealand Bus had breached the Commerce Act when its offer to buy Mana shares became unconditional on March 15.

He also found that Ian Waddell and Kerry Waddell, the vendors of the Mana shares, had breached the Act by being a party to the prohibited purchase.

An Infratil spokesman said yesterday the company was appealing Justice Miller's June decision. The Waddells are also appealing.

Late last month, merchant bank Bancorp made a lightning raid, buying up 74 per cent of Mana Coaches.

[Toddy]

IFT has had a couple of tough days since the AGM with a few sellers around. The SP has been hit despite TPW making good headway after the Govt pricing announcement.

Does anyone know the numbers around the Origin Air business in and out of Wellington Airport. I doubt that it would be significant but would be interested to know all of the same.
Glasgow Prestwick flights have been effected over the latest security scare here in the U.K. However, apart from the direct Stanstead Prestwick daily flight it looks like it has been very much business as usual. As the security status has now been downgraded it will be back to normal soon. Sometimes in these situations the second line airports actually pick up extra business off the big London airports. i.e Kent may actually benefit in the long run with the inability of Stanstead/Gatwick to cope when the pressure comes on. Heathrow is run like a machine and any disruption at all causes a backlog almost straight away.

[Rif-Raf]

quote:Originally posted by Toddy

IFT has had a couple of tough days since the AGM with a few sellers around. The SP has been hit despite TPW making good headway after the Govt pricing announcement.

Does anyone know the numbers around the Origin Air business in and out of Wellington Airport. I doubt that it would be significant but would be interested to know all of the same.
Glasgow Prestwick flights have been effected over the latest security scare here in the U.K. However, apart from the direct Stanstead Prestwick daily flight it looks like it has been very much business as usual. As the security status has now been downgraded it will be back to normal soon. Sometimes in these situations the second line airports actually pick up extra business off the big London airports. i.e Kent may actually benefit in the long run with the inability of Stanstead/Gatwick to cope when the pressure comes on. Heathrow is run like a machine and any disruption at all causes a backlog almost straight away.

I've been contemplating the recent UK air scare and it's potential affect on IFT's airport activities. Some thoughts...

Negatives
1.Will no doubt curtail peoples propensity to use air travel for a while.
2.May increase operational costs with security if the costs can't be passed on to airlines, or if they can pass on, the fares will increase and discourage demand a little
3.Perhaps the smaller airports like Kent will not have the economies of scale to implement more sophisticated security processing infrastructure.

Positives
1.People may feel a lot more comfortable flying from smaller airports that are not symbolic targets like Heathrow, also, less US bound flights from their airports
2.South England/UK recognises a need to be less dependent on Heathrow/Gatwick being the terrorist target for the UK. This may play into the hands of accelrating the development of Kent as a good alternative
3.If longer queues continue, they will extract more revenue from passengers waiting to fly!
4.Many travellors choice of destination may switch from the US to europe which is where IFT's airline clients are strong in.

[Placebo]

Origin collapse definitely bad for IFT. No matter how small the operator, the airport collects money whenever an aircraft moves. One less airline (and no new ones in the wings) equals reduced revenue.

AIR will pick up Origin's passengers, but that doesn't necessarily mean more flights, so it's good for AIR and bad for the airports.

[Toddy]

Rif Raf

Newspaper reports have indicated that the airport chaos has been caused by the airport companys and their inability to process the carry on luggage in a timely manner. On a normal day you have to queue.
BAA is taking the blame as Heathrow/Gatwick and Stanstead have not invested in the aircraft handling side of the business but have concentrated more on the retail side. The airports should have been running smoothly within 24 hours after the initial (non event) security alert. They used the caterers strike last year at Heathrow as an example how any small deviation causes a complete breakdown of all of the airport systems.
The papers have also reported upto a 50% increase in charter flights in and out of the airports outside of the top three.

If I can find a positive for IFT in what has been a rough week, then I would say that Kent Airport will benefit from these events in the long run as the locals seek out airports where they do not have to queue hour on end and where their luggage will not be lost. As for Glasgow Prestwick, good proactive management meant limited disruption.

Origin. Reality has hit home again that the New Zealand market is not yet big enough to support multiple carriers.