The Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price is edging lower this morning after the release of an update.
At the time of writing the airport operator's shares are down 0.5% to $6.60.
What did Sydney Airport announce?
This morning Sydney Airport provided the market with an update on its distribution plans and current passenger numbers.
In respect to its distribution for FY 2020, the company revealed there will be no final distribution this year.
Management explained that it made the decision "given the continued significant impact of COVID-19 on the business performance of Sydney Airport over the second half of the calendar year."
Traffic update.
As the company alluded to in its distribution update, Sydney Airport is still experiencing a sharp downturn in passenger numbers.
During the month of November, Sydney Airport welcomed 308,000 domestic travellers through its terminals. This was an 87.1% reduction on the prior corresponding period when almost 2.4 million domestic passengers used its airport.
Though, it is worth noting that unrestricted travel between New South Wales and Victoria only started on 23 November. This should give passenger numbers a boost in December.
For obvious reasons, it was much worse for international travellers. Just 42,000 came through its terminals in November, down 96.9% on the same period last year.
This led to total passenger numbers of 350,000 for the month, down 90.6% from just over 3.7 million a year earlier.
Management commented: "Domestic passengers totalled 308,000 for November 2020, down 87.1% on the pcp. The modest recovery in domestic traffic in the month was driven by demand for NSW and Victoria interstate travel. Unrestricted travel between NSW and Victoria was permitted from 23 November."
"42,000 international passengers passed through Sydney Airport in November, down 96.9% on the pcp. The downturn in international passenger traffic is expected to persist until government travel restrictions are eased," it added.
