Fraport Achieves First Quarter Profit Despite C...
FRANKFURT, Germany, May 12 /PRNewswire/ --
- Retail Revenue Exceeds EUR3 per Passenger
- Forecast for 2009 is Cautious
- Confidence for the Time After the Crisis
Despite the economic and financial crisis, which has considerably
depressed world air traffic since the end of 2008, Fraport AG realized a
profit for the first quarter of 2009: Unadjusted Group revenue fell by 14.4
percent year-on-year to EUR452 million. However, adjusted for consolidation
effects, revenue decline was only 1.5 percent. EBITDA (earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) dropped by 13.5 percent below
the previous year's level to EUR99.8 million. Group profit reached EUR22.3
million in the first three months of 2009, down 25.4 percent from the
previous year's level. The Fraport Group expects to be in the black also for
the full year 2009.
In the January-to-March 2009 period, approximately 14 million passengers
used the Fraport Group's six majority-owned airports, 7.1 percent less than
in the same period of 2008. Cargo tonnage fell by 23.2 percent to nearly
451,000 metric tons. The total number of passengers served by the Fraport
Group's airports (including minority-owned airports and airports under
management contract) slipped by 4.1 percent year-on-year to approximately
27.4 million and total cargo throughput slid by 18.1 percent to 657,300
metric tons. With 10.9 million passengers, Frankfurt Airport welcomed 10.9
percent fewer passengers in the January-to-March 2009 period than in the
previous year and registered a 23.3 percent drop in airfreight and airmail to
407,000 metric tons of cargo.
The Fraport Group's revenue reached EUR452 million, down EUR76.2 million
from the previous year's figure. Some EUR67.3 million of this loss were
attributable to the sale of Fraport's ICTS Europe security subsidiary, which
still generated income in the first quarter of 2008. Another EUR3.3 million
were due to the transfer of Fraport's shares in Frankfurt-Hahn Airport to the
state of Rhineland-Palatinate effective January 1, 2009, and the ensuing loss
of income and expenses generated by this subsidiary for the Fraport Group in
the previous year. In the reporting period, positive impulses were registered
primarily at Lima and Antalya airports, whereas declining traffic resulted in
a revenue loss of EUR22.5 million at Frankfurt.
Despite declining passenger traffic, FRA's retail and gastronomy
offerings were increasingly attractive: Net retail sales revenue per
passenger exceeded the EUR3 mark per passenger
for the first time, climbing from EUR2.89 a year ago to EUR3.09.
Adjusted, total operating expenses rose 5.4 percent from EUR356.8 million
to EUR376.0 million from January to March: Personnel expenses dropped by 20.4
percent below the previous year's level to EUR219.1 million, mainly because
of the aforementioned consolidation effects. Adjusted, staff costs increased
by EUR6 million or 2.8 percent, primarily because of the implementation of
phase two of the collective pay settlement for Fraport AG's permanent staff
agreed to in fiscal 2008. Because of the sale of ICTS Europe the number of
people employed by the Fraport Group in the first quarter of 2009 dropped by
9,210 (down 31.4 percent) year-on-year to 20,131 employees on average.
Non-staff costs climbed in absolute terms by EUR4.6 million (or 3
percent) to EUR157.6 million. Main reasons included higher expenditures at
Lima Airport as well as increased energy and utility costs due to the
unusually cold 2008/09 winter.
Group EBITDA dropped by EUR15.6 million or 13.5 percent year-on-year to
EUR99.8 million, mainly because of declining traffic at Frankfurt Airport and
growing expenditures. The EBITDA margin slightly improved
from 21.8 to 22.1 percent because of the elimination of the
labor-intensive and low-margin ICTS Europe business.
Reaching EUR22.3 million, Group profits were down EUR7.6 million or 25.4
percent year-on-year. Basic earnings per share fell from EUR0.34 to EUR0.26.
Like in the first quarter, the global economic development will determine
the outlook for air traffic development in the entire fiscal year 2009, and
Frankfurt Airport will not be able to evade this development. Fraport expects
passenger volume to shrink by between six and nine percent. Commensurate with
this, the company expects Group EBITDA to reach approximately EUR500 million
to EUR530 million. Group profits will fall short of the 2008 level as
forecast at the beginning of fiscal year 2009.
Fraport's executive board chairman Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Bender explained he
"continued to be optimistic with regard to the time after the crisis",
despite the decline in traffic and profits anticipated for 2009. When
presenting Fraport's interim report, Bender said, "Commencement of
construction on the new runway set an important signal for the future
viability and competitiveness of Frankfurt Airport and creates planning
reliability for the airlines." With the completion of the new runway for the
2011 winter timetable, Frankfurt Airport and thus the entire Fraport Group
will again participate at an over-proportionate rate in the catch-up effects
of rebounding world air traffic that set in after every crisis, as experience
has demonstrated. "We are making profit, do not require any government
subsidies and, with EUR4 billion, are accomplishing a gigantic private
investment program for FRA's expansion," Fraport's CEO said confidently.
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.: +49-69-690-78547; Fax: +49-69-690-60548;
E-mail: r.payne@fraport.de; Internet: http://www.fraport.com
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