Shares in TBI, the airports group which owns Belfast International Airport, fell yesterday after the company announced that several of its airports were performing below expectations.
TBI said that Luton Airport, in which the company has a 25 per cent stake, performed badly last year.
A spokesman for TBI said that Luton Airport, in which TBI has no management control, had lower-than-expected profits in 1999 and this has had adverse consequences for the company.
And there was bad news from the company's smaller airports in Sweden and the US. TBI blames economic factors for the shortfall in both locations
There was better news from TBI's biggest airports, Cardiff and Belfast, which have both been exhibiting double digit growth in operating profits.
The company expects this growth to continue.
Last June, TBI sold its property portfolio for £190 million and a month later acquired Airport Group International (AGI), which manages 29 airports, for £86 million sterling.
TBI's share price has been in decline ever since and has declined by approximately 40 per cent from its high point last year.
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