Tokyo?s Narita International Airport Corporation (NIAC) has blamed higher costs for its 45.9% net profit fall in its fiscal first six months ended September 30.

NIAC said that the disappointing result was due to extensive work carried out in Terminal 1, costs associated with the expansion of its retail operations and cuts that the airport company made to landing fees last year after being fiercely criticized for their previously high levels.
Net profit for the first half plummeted by 45.9% to Y.6,589m ($55.7m), while operating profit fell by 31.2% to Y.18,077m ($152.9m). Recurring profit was down 38.4% to Y.13,186m ($111.5m).
Overall revenue saw a gain of 3.5% to Y.90.8bn ($768.1m) but the company?s profitability is expected to improve in the second half as it benefits from the pull through from its new shopping mall in the South Wing at Terminal 1 that opened last June.
The initial signs are that this is already making a good contribution, although FaSoLa Shops' Director of Merchandising Masa Takatsu says that security events did put pressure on the business in the early months after it opened its new shops in the facility.
?In July, sales were down in the cosmetics and perfumery shop and flat in the liquor and tobacco shop. In August, sales fell badly because of the London terrorist alert. Sales were down almost 20% in cosmetics and perfumery and 10% down in liquor and tobacco compared with the June result. However, our sales gradually recovered in September.?
Earlier this year another Narita operator Japan Duty Free reported that in its financial year ending March 31 it sold goods worth Y.22bn ($186.1m) at Narita airport, an increase of 5% compared with duty free sales worth Y.21bn ($177.6m) in the previous year.