CREDIT: AIA: AIA Standard & Poors announcement

12 Jan 2010 8:38 am

AIA 12/01/2010 CREDIT

REL: 0838 HRS Auckland International Airport Limited

CREDIT: AIA: AIA Standard & Poors announcement

BULLETIN: Auckland Airport Ratings Unaffected By Purchase Of Stake In North Queensland Airports

Melbourne, Jan.11, 2010--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that its 'A-/A-2' ratings and stable outlook on Auckland International Airport Ltd. (AIAL) are unaffected by AIAL's announcement that it has purchased a 24.55% stake in North Queensland Airports. We note that the agreement is subject to North Queensland Airports receiving financier consents before settlement. Although we expect the A$132.8 million purchase to further diversify AIAL's revenue base, we note that the majority of AIAL's revenue will remain linked to passenger numbers at Auckland Airport.

The stable rating outlook reflects our expectation that AIAL will maintain adequate liquidity following the purchase. Furthermore, we expect AIAL's forecast financial metrics will remain consistent with our expectations for the 'A-' long-term rating. AIAL has advised that its funding strategy--subsequent to the initial finance of the North Queensland Airports purchase from existing debt facilities--is likely to involve a mix of debt and equity, consistent with AIAL's current capital structure. However, in our view this acquisition may reduce AIAL's capacity to undertake further sizeable "step out" opportunities at the current 'A-' rating in the short term.

About Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With offices in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for nearly 150 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.au

Media Contact: Sharon Beach, Melbourne, (61) 3 9631 2152, sharon_beach@standardandpoors.com

Primary Credit Analyst(s): Danielle Westwater, Corporate Ratings, danielle_westwater@standardandpoors.com Parvathy Iyer, Corporate Ratings, parvathy_iyer@standardandpoors.com

Ratings may not be compiled into a database or systematically distributed or shared for commercial purposes in a manner that substitutes for a paid Standard & Poor's service. Standard & Poor's (Australia) Pty. Ltd. holds Australian financial services licence number 337565 under the Corporations Act 2001. Standard & Poor's credit ratings and related research are not intended for and must not be distributed to any person in Australia other than a wholesale client (as defined in Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act).

Auckland Airport ratings unaffected by purchase of stake in North Queensland Airports

Auckland International Airport Limited (Auckland Airport) today welcomed the announcement by Standard & Poor's that its 'A-/A-2' ratings and stable outlook on Auckland Airport are unaffected by the announcement that Auckland Airport has purchased a 24.55% stake in North Queensland Airports.

Ends

For further information, please contact: Richard Llewellyn Senior communications manager Auckland Airport +64 (0) 9 255 9089 +64 (0) 27 477 6120

Andrew Pirie Strategic communications adviser Auckland Airport +64 (0) 9 255 9194 +64 (0) 21 025 37357

Auckland Airport - World Airport Award Winner 2009 Auckland Airport has been voted the 10th best in the world and the best airport in the Australia Pacific region in the 2009 independent Skytrax World Airport awards. The World Airport Survey is conducted by UK-based aviation research organisation, Skytrax. The survey is completed by approximately 8.2 million travellers from more than 190 airports around the world. The questionnaire asks travellers to evaluate their experiences across 39 different airport service and product factors - from check-in, arrivals, and transfer through to departure at the gate. www.airlinequality.com End CA:00190082 For:AIA Type:CREDIT Time:2010-01-12:08:38:20

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