The ratings on airport operator Dublin Airport Authority PLC (DAA) reflect its dominant competitive position in the Republic of Ireland (AAA/Stable/A-1+). They also reflect DAA's strong commercial skills, the high level of origin-destination passengers passing through its airports, and continued strong passenger growth. These factors are offset by uncertainty about the outcome of a regulatory review of DAA's very large planned capital-expenditure program, and an unbalanced revenue profile. Furthermore, although DAA's financial profile has improved strongly, it will likely weaken owing to the large investment program and regulatory tariff caps. In 2006, strong traffic growth at DAA continued, with a 16% increase in the first half of the year over the same period in 2005. In 2005, DAA handled 24.5
