Kochi: Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) Saturday said it has registered a net profit of Rs 166.92 crore out of a turnover of Rs 650.34 crore during the financial year 2018-19,

Despite the closure of the airport for 15 days due to the floods in August, the CIAL registered an increase of turnover of 17.52 per cent.

The turnover during 2017-18 was Rs 553.41 crore, the company said. The profit (after tax) increased by 7 per cent, ie, Rs 155.99 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 166.92 crore in 2018-19, a press release said.

The consolidated turnover achieved by CIAL and its fully owned subsidiaries like CIAL Duty free and Retails Services Ltd (CDRSL) stands at Rs 807.36 crore this year against Rs 701.13 crore last year.

The consolidated profit increased from Rs 169.92 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 184.77 crore this financial year.

CDRSL alone has logged a turnover of Rs 240.33 crore, the release said. CIAL, which pioneered the idea of PPP model in airport infrastructure development, has been paying dividend from 2003-04 and with the last fiscal, the total dividend payout touched 228 per cent. The Kerala government which has a share of 32.41 per cent in CIAL has been given Rs 31 crore as dividend during the last fiscal, the release said.

For the 2018-19, the board has proposed a dividend of27 per cent which has to be ratified by the annual general meeting to be held in Ernakulam onSeptember 28, it said.