NARITA, Chiba Pref. (Kyodo) Narita International Airport Corp. said Thursday it will not pay a dividend for fiscal 2004, its first business year after becoming a stock company.
Narita International Airport President Masahiko Kurono told reporters that the move is designed to increase the price of its shares in the runup to a planned listing three years from now. Profits will be used to bolster the business strength of the company, which operates Narita airport.
By raising the company's capital adequacy ratio from the current 15 percent and implementing other measures, more gains are expected at the time of listing, Kurono said.
"Thus, our shareholders may not suffer a complete loss" from the absence of dividend payments, he said.
Formerly known as the New Tokyo International Airport Authority, Narita International Airport became a stock company on April 1 as the first step toward full privatization.
Although shares in the corporation, capitalized at 100 billion yen, are entirely held by the government, the corporation hopes to make its debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in fiscal 2007, after striving to secure a competitive edge over other Japanese airports.
The company posted revenue of some 13.3 billion yen in April and some 13.4 billion yen in May, around 4 percent higher than its targets, company officials said.