Gatwick-owner Vinci sees 2022 profit surpassing pre-pandemic levels

France's Vinci expects net income this year to exceed its pre-pandemic level in 2019, helped by a recovery in its airports arm that should bring those earnings close to breakeven. Although earnings in 2021 were more than double those in 2020, the infrastructure group's annual net income last year was still about 20% below 2019 levels at E2.60b ($2.98b). The majority owner of London's Gatwick airport said it expected passenger numbers at its airports to recover in 2022 to around 60% of their 2019 levels, bringing the unit's net income close to breakeven, unless the COVID-19 health crisis worsens again. CE Xavier Huillard said that passenger numbers had progressively improved from summer in the northern hemisphere, and that the business had benefited from the initial impact of drastic cost-cutting measures it had previously introduced. Global travel has remained far below its pre-pandemic levels even with widespread vaccinations, as countries imposed new entry restrictions over the northern hemisphere winter to curb the spread of the highly-transmissable Omicron variant. Vinci's airport traffic climbed 12% last year from 2020 lows but remained at just a third of their pre-pandemic levels.<br/>