Fraport Fiscal Year 2008: Record EBITDA Despite...

FRANKFURT, Germany, March 5 /PRNewswire/ --

    - Adjusted Revenue Increases - Annual Result Dips - 2009 Outlook is 
Cautious



- Preliminary Figures - Subject to Supervisory Board Approval

    In fiscal year 2008 the Fraport airport company again achieved
growth in revenue, which increased by 3.8 percent after adjusting for special
effects. In absolute terms, revenue declined by 9.8 percent to EUR2.1
billion. This loss in revenue versus 2007 was due to the sale of Fraport's
ICTS Europe security subsidiary on April 1, 2008, and to revenue received in
2007 from finance leasing of the Airrail Center Frankfurt project. The Group
operating result - EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and
amortization) - reached the new record figure of EUR600.7 million, up 3.5
percent compared to the record year of 2007. As announced, the 2008 net
profit of EUR180.2 million was below the previous year's figure of EUR213.7
million. Fraport's executive board is recommending an unchanged dividend
payment of EUR1.15 per share.



    Fraport executive board chairman Dr. Wilhelm Bender said that
the strong downturn in the global economy led to declines in passenger and
airfreight traffic at the Group's Frankfurt Airport (FRA) home-base in 2008.
With nearly 53.5 million passengers, Frankfurt Airport registered 1.3 percent
fewer passengers than in the record year of 2007 - although the particularly
attractive intercontinental passenger segment still reported light growth.
Cargo throughput (airfreight and airmail) dropped by 2.7 percent to 2.1
million metric tons.



    At the Group level, traffic development for 2008 was more
positive than in Frankfurt. Peru's Lima Airport saw passenger traffic jump by
10.4 percent to 8.3 million and airfreight volume climb by 6.1 percent to
almost 240,000 metric tons. Antalya Airport on the Turkish Riviera recorded
9.1 million passengers, up 8.5 percent year-on-year. In total, Fraport's
majority-owned airports welcomed about 78.2 million passengers and handled
nearly 2.5 million metric tons of cargo (airfreight and airmail).



    Even in times of crisis, air transportation maintains its
leading role for the global mobility of people and goods and continues to be
a prerequisite for the economic prosperity of "Export Nation Germany",
stressed Bender. Moreover, the development of traffic in previous decades
shows that crisis-related declines have been followed by over-proportional
growth in the succeeding recovery phase. "There is no doubt that
globalization and internationalization of the division of labor will
intensify further," said Bender, and "this is why the world economy needs a
high-performance global air transportation industry - that links the growth
centers of the world together."



    Thus, explained Bender, the temporary drop in traffic figures
is definitely no reason to forgo FRA's capacity expansion. The demand from
airlines for take-off and landing slots at Frankfurt has remained stable for
many years, above and beyond the limited capacity available. "After a long
ten-year planning and approval phase, we are finally constructing the new 
Runway Northwest- a decisive step for the future," said Fraport's executive 
board chairman.



    Bender indicated that he was satisfied with the tree clearing
and preparatory work for FRA's Airport Expansion Program, which is running on
schedule. He stressed that Fraport is securing the airport's future not only
with the new landing runway, which is expected to go into operation during
the 2011/2012 Winter Timetable. Progress was also made last year in
strengthening, modernizing, and expanding FRA's existing infrastructure. In
2008, Fraport invested nearly EUR500 million: for example at Terminal 1, for
building the new Area C, for redeveloping International Pier B, and for
recently starting Pier A-West - all areas where new terminal docking
positions for the Airbus A380 superjumbo are being created.



    Fraport's chief described Frankfurt Airport's expansion as one
of the largest investment projects in Europe: "In total we will be investing
about EUR7 billion here at FRA between 2007 and 2015. On top of this,
billions of euros will be invested by numerous other companies, that want to
profit from the dynamic Frankfurt Airport City in the future." This privately
financed program will have considerable impact on the economic development of
Frankfurt/Rhine-Main and far beyond our region. It will secure many thousands
of jobs and, through catalytic effects, will create approximately 100,000 new
employment positions throughout Germany.



    Despite all of these positive developments, "it is difficult
to provide an outlook of our expected business development in 2009," said
Bender. Fraport expects Group traffic figures to drop because of the global
economic situation. At FRA, the stabilization of air traffic is expected
during the third quarter. By no later than the second quarter of 2010, Bender
sees a sustainable recovery trend firmly taking hold -- led by renewed growth
in air traffic figures around the globe. For the Fraport Group, Bender is
expecting decreases in traffic and revenue in 2009 - which, through strict
cost management, will have only an under-proportional impact on EBITDA and
Group results. In conclusion, Bender stated that uncertainty about the
economy and air traffic development currently made it impossible to quantify
precisely how Fraport's business results will develop.



    Print-quality photos of Frankfurt Airport and Fraport AG are
available free for downloading via the Internet at http://www.fraport.com
(Menu: select Press Center > then Photo Service). For TV news and information
broadcasting purposes only, we also offer free footage material for
downloading via http://fraport.cms-gomex.com.


    
    For Further information, Please Contact:

    Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide,
    Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. - Manager International Press,
    Press Office (Dept. UKM-PS), Corporate Communications (UKM),
    60547 Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany,
    Tel.: [phone]; Fax: [phone];
    E-mail: [e-mail]; Internet: http://www.fraport.com