SEPANG, Jan 27 — Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is confident of posting a 9.7 per cent increase in passenger traffic in 2014 due to expected seat capacity expansion amongst the airlines and strong tourist arrivals on Visit Malaysia Year this year.

MAHB Chief Financial Officer Faizal Mansor said KLIA2, which is expected to commence operations in May, would also contribute positively to the group’s revenue, largely fuelled by the expected higher passenger movements and complemented by enhancements in its retail and commercial operations.

“We remain optimistic in 2014 because of the Visit Malaysia Year. This is a very positive signal for us,” he told reporters after announcing the airport operator’s fourth quarter financial performance today.

Faizal noted that 60 per cent of MAHB’s passenger traffic was from Asian countries.

On KLIA2, Faizal said the contractors would have to deliver a certificate of completion by month-end.

“If they are able to deliver it by the end of the week, then, yes, we will be able to open on May 2,” he said.

The company posted 18.4 per cent passenger growth in its financial year ended December 31, 2013, outpacing the expected passenger growth rate of 7.1 per cent last year, with a record number of 79.5 million passengers having passed through MAHB’s 39 airports in Malaysia.

Both international and domestic passenger movements recorded strong growth at 16.8 per cent and 19.9 per cent respectively in 2013.

Total passenger movements recorded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) increased by 19.1 per cent, with both KLIA main terminal building and Low-Cost Carrier Terminal registering positive growth of 24.6 per cent and 13.2 per cent respectively.

Total aircraft movements grew 14.2 per cent to 737,759, with the domestic sector recording a higher growth of 15.1 per cent compared to the international sector, which posted a 12.6 per cent growth.

A total of eight new airlines had started operations last year, including Turkish Airlines, AirFrance and Malindo Air, said Faizal.

“Our target for (yearly) KPI is at least five new airlines. We are talking to a few of them and hopefully when the time is right, we will make the announcement. We have aggressive marketing initiatives in enticing new airlines to come (to KLIA),” he added.

Faizal said that the airport operator was also looking to strengthen the contributions of its non-airport operations segment.

MAHB posted a 11.2 per cent fall to RM551.1 million in its pre-tax profit for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2013, compared to RM602.8 million in the previous financial year.

Revenue grew by 13.9 per cent to RM4.098 billion from RM3.548 billion previously due to increase in aeronautical revenue, retail sales and non-airport operations.

Earnings per share reduced to 31.73 sen. — Bernama