ACU23 ME3

Issue 13

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NEWS

COUNTRY: AFRICA

• Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Central African Republic • Chad • Congo • Cote d'lvoire • Djibouti •

a

1$ - United States Dollar
Conversion to Major AFRICA Currencies
(Exchange Rates
as of April 2003)

Algeria Dinars
1 USD = 74.8960 DZD

Egypt Pounds
1 USD = 6.13000 EGP

Ethiopia Birr
1 USD = 8.55000 ETB

Ghana Cedis
1 USD = 8,537.85 GHC

Kenya Shillings
1 USD = 75.8000 KES

Nigeria Nairas
1 USD = 132.750 NGN

South Africa Rand
1 USD = 6.89293 ZAR

Sudan Dinars
1 USD = 262.506 SDD

Tanzania Shillings
1 USD = 1,053.28 TZS

Uganda Shillings
1 USD = 1,984.92 UGX

Zimbabwe Dollars
1 USD = 800.000 ZWD

Nambia Dollars
1 USD = 6.96155 NAD

Air Botswana reports positive financial results for the 7th year in succession

Air Botswana airline has made a net profit of P8.820 million for the year ended 31 March 2003. The operating profit of P9.274 million was 63 per cent higher than the previous year. According to a release, the airline has witnessed appreciable quantity of load despite the continuing adverse effects on international travel caused by low economic growth, the aftermath of September 11 catastrophe, the Iraq conflict, the outbreak of SARS and the continuing instability in the region. Regional traffic grew by only 3 percent, in contrast to a 17 percent increase in domestic traffic. The domestic market continues to benefit from Botswana's sound economy and political stability.
"These results are particularly satisfying in a difficult operating year," said Willie Mokgathle General Manager of Air Botswana. "The continuing solid performance of the airline is a credit to the commitment and hard work of our team, and keeps Air Botswana firmly on course in the final stage of privatization," added Mokgathle.

ACSA revenues up 19%

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), which owns and operates the country's 10 principal airports including the three major international airports at Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, has increased revenues by 19 per cent to a higher than budgeted R1,589 million for the year ended 31 March 2003.

Announcing the results recently, ACSA’s Managing Director, Monhla Hlahla said that the revenue was boosted by a strong surge in non-aeronautical activities, with commercial revenues growing by 24% to R629 million.

Hlahla said, "Non-aeronautical revenue rose to R746,5-million from R637,8-million and now makes up 45 percent of total revenue, continuing the upward trend over the past few years. "This also confirms the viability of the strategy to bring commercially-based non-aeronautical revenue and regulation-bound aeronautical revenue into balance".

She further said that headline earnings for the year rose by 32 percent to R542,2-million (R409,8-million) after adjusting for profit of R118,5-million on the sale of the NATCOS Tank Farm at Durban International Airport.

Hlalhla said that ACSA aimed to maintain sustainable growth in dividends and retains a portion of after tax profits to fund airport infrastructure upgrades. The company declared a dividend of R160-million compared with R105-million in 2002.

Hlahla further stated that airport upgrade projects in the pipeline were an international pier at JIA, extensions to the JIA International Terminal and a new apron to take capacity to 20 million passengers a year by 2030. At CIA a new domestic terminal is planned.

"A major logistics based project that will materially boost ACSA's activities and revenues in this sector is the development, jointly with government, of a massive freight-handling facility at JIA, Cargo City, which will handle a large proportion of all goods passing in and out of southern Africa." "In addition, the JIA IDZ project is in its initial stages and agreement with the Gauteng Government on plans for the Bulk Duty Free facility at JIA is expected shortly." She said the two projects were some of the initiatives by the commercial division to expand and strengthen the scope of our operations and our revenue streams," she added.

JIA bags "The Best Airport in Africa 2003" award

Johannesburg International Airport (JIA), the biggest and the busiest airport in Africa, is adding yet another accolade to its list as "The Best Airport in Africa 2003."
JIA has been awarded the Skytrax Best Airport in Africa for the second consecutive year. The Skytrax survey is one of the largest airport surveys of airline passengers and is commissioned and undertaken by Skytrax of London.
Monhla Hlahla, Managing Director of Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), said, "This award has also presented a further challenge to the JIA team. Offering world-class service at an airport the size of Johannesburg is not easy. This award, which I am particularly pleased with, should serve as a challenge to the management, staff and our stakeholders to work even more harder to ensure a truly world-class travel experience for all 11 million people who pass through the airport on a yearly basis."
Travelers from over 80 different countries submitted

nominations for the 2003 Airport of the Year Awards and over 1.6 million eligible nominations were received.
Bongani Maseko, General Manager of JIA, said that he was heartened to see the traveling public who had responded well to the many efforts undertaken to develop the airport into a truly world-class facility. "We’ve undertaken a large amount of infrastructural development in recent years and we are now beginning to see the results," Maseko added.
Stating the future plans of JIA, Maseko said that further developments at JIA, particularly around movement between the international and domestic terminals as well as boosting aircraft capacity, are also planned.
JIA is not the only ACSA airport to have been honoured recently. Durban International Airport has received the 2002 Airport World Service Excellence Award for ‘Runner-Up Best Domestic Airport in the World.’ In addition to this, DIA has been recognized by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as the ‘Best Planned Airport’ for the calendar year 2002.

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