Fraport Annual General Meeting: EUR1.15 Dividen...
FRANKFURT, Germany, May 28 /PRNewswire/ --
- "Fraport Presents Itself in Top Form Again"
Fraport's executive board chairman Dr. Wilhelm Bender
reported on "the very successful 2007 financial year" at the company's Annual
General Meeting (AGM) in Frankfurt today. "Despite considerable capacity
constraints at Frankfurt Airport, we were able to achieve noticeable growth
in passenger and airfreight figures," said Bender. "Moreover, 2007 was
particularly successful because of the quantum leap taken toward Frankfurt
Airport's expansion, when the Hesse government's zoning approval was issued
last December."
With EUR2.329 billion, Fraport AG's revenues exceeded the
previous year's level by 8.6 percent. Rising 0.4 percent to EUR580.5 million,
operating results (EBITDA or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization) also achieved a new record level, despite positive one-off
special effects in the previous year. One-off effects in 2006 were also the
reason why Group profits of EUR213.7 million in 2007 fell slightly short of
the previous year's record level.
The executive and supervisory boards are recommending that
shareholders again receive a dividend of EUR1.15 per share for fiscal year
2007 - despite the special effects in the previous year. "This demonstrates
continuity on a high level," stated Fraport's executive board chairman.
Bender explained that the company plans to invest
approximately EUR4 billion for expanding Frankfurt Airport's (FRA) capacity -
for the new runway and associated infrastructure as well as for constructing
the planned Terminal 3 once the new runway is inaugurated. A further EUR3
billion will be spent on modernizing and optimizing existing airport
facilities. "This total investment of about EUR7 billion - which, over the
next seven years, is intended to maintain FRA's future competitiveness - will
be a considerable strain on us", Bender emphasized. However, the total budget
is financially feasible and imperative, if Frankfurt does not want to drop
out of the "champions league of globally linked air transportation hubs."
The Airport Expansion Program will serve as a "giant
privately-financed investment program" for the economies of the
Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, the state of Hesse, and the entire country.
FRA's new runway is expected to go into operation by the Winter Timetable
2011. "This schedule is ambitious but realistic."
Bender further explained that the approved expansion program
is also a necessary prerequisite for realizing the Frankfurt Airport City
concept. In terms of "intermodality", Frankfurt Airport offers comprehensive
connections to the international air transportation system and excellent
links to rail and road networks: "Global traffic streams are closely
integrated at FRA to European and domestic transportation networks." Because
land around the airport is scarce, Fraport is developing with private and
public partners "some of the most exciting real estate in the Rhine-Main
region".
The company's external business also continues to develop
successfully, Bender indicated. "We are constantly on the lookout for
attractive opportunities where we can market and apply our airport management
expertise worldwide," he said. "We are maintaining good contacts,
particularly in the booming markets of India and China." In the Far East,
Viet Nam also offers exceptional potential. "We are now investigating
possibilities for participating in the rapid development of this Asian
country."
"Fraport is again presenting itself today in excellent financial and
strategic condition for the future," concluded Bender. "We are continuing to
work hard to realize our plans and are concentrating already on quickly
starting construction of the new runway, once the pending court decision is
issued."
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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