Macquarie Airports slips into loss in H1

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Macquarie Airports (MAP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) (MAP), a fund managed by Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), reported a first-half loss on Wednesday as financing costs and a huge adviser's fee weighed down the the bottom line.

The company, which has a core portfolio of four major airports, Sydney, Copenhagen, Brussels and Bristol, and a long term strategic investment in Japan Airport Terminal, reported a net loss of A$274.3 million ($239 million), down from a profit of A$939.2 million which had been inflated by asset revakuations

The company has a market capitalisation of about A$4.8 billion, and MAP shares have taken a fall of 30,37 percent so far this year, compared with a 22.3 percent fall in the benchmark AXJO-Index in the same period.

(Reporting by Mette Fraende, editing by Mark Bendeich)