Fraport Interim Report - First Quarter 2008
FRANKFURT, Germany, May 8 /PRNewswire/ --
- EBITDA Continues to Grow
- Last Year's Special Effects Depress Revenue
- Forecast for 2008 Confirmed
In the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, the Fraport Group's
operating results (EBITDA or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization) rose by 1.1 percent to EUR115.4 million, although Group
revenue of EUR528.2 million fell 5.9 percent short of the previous year's
level. Revenue development was curbed by the previous year's special effect
from the finance lease with the Airrail Center Frankfurt. Adjusted for this
effect, sales revenue increased by 4.9 percent. Group profit dropped 32.9
percent below the comparable period in 2007 to EUR24.5 million.
Together, the Fraport Group's airports (including
minority-owned airports and those operated under management contract)
welcomed approximately 26.8 million passengers, 7.3 percent more than in the
first quarter of 2007. Within this figure, Fraport's majority-owned airports
(Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Hahn, Lima, Antalya, Burgas and Varna) accounted for
16.1 million passengers (up 4.4 percent).
The 5.9 percent decline in sales revenue to EUR528.2 million
was mainly due to revenue of EUR57.6 million generated in the previous year
by the Airrail Center finance lease, which was set off by costs in the same
amount. Higher revenue at Frankfurt Airport in the first quarter of 2008 was
primarily achieved in the Retail & Properties segment. Because our Lima
investment has been fully consolidated for the first-time since August 2007,
Lima Airport, in particular, contributed to rising sales figures (up EUR21.8
million). Other income remained unchanged compared to the previous year.
The Fraport Group's operating expenses dropped by 7.4 percent
to EUR428.4 million in the reporting period - adjusted for the aforementioned
special effect, operating expenses were up by 5.8 percent. Fraport's
personnel expenses climbed 4.5 percent to EUR275.4 million. This increase
resulted mainly from a recent collective pay settlement, effective
retroactively from the beginning of fiscal year 2008. Group-wide, the number
of employees rose by 1.7 percent in the period under review. Thus, from
January through March 2008, Fraport employed 29,341 people on average. Staff
costs as a percentage of revenue reached 52.1 percent, 0.2 percentage points
below the adjusted previous year's figure.
In contrast, adjusted non-staff costs as a percentage of
revenue rose by 0.9 percentage points on the previous year's level to 29
percent. Material and other operating expenses dropped by 23.2 percent to
EUR153 million, due to the special effect from the previous year. On an
adjusted basis, cost of material amounted to EUR107 million (up 30 percent).
EBITDA rose by 1.1 percent to EUR115.4 million in the first
three months of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007. The adjusted
EBITDA margin fell 0.9 percentage points in the first quarter to 21.8
percent.
The financial result deteriorated noticeably from minus EUR0.3
million in the previous year to minus EUR29.7 million in the reporting
period. This deterioration was mainly due to a strong increase in interest
expenses, resulting primarily from interest cost compounded on Fraport's
long-term liabilities for the concession payable to operate Antalya, and
liabilities in connection with the basic agreement concluded with Celanese
AG/Ticona GmbH. Basic earnings per share fell from EUR0.41 to EUR0.28.
Fraport continues to adhere to its forecasts for the year
2008. These forecasts predict passenger traffic at FRA to grow by between one
and two percent year-on-year. Group revenue is expected to be lower than in
2007 due to the positive influence on revenue from the Airrail Center finance
lease in the previous year. Without this special effect, Group revenue is
expected to rise further. Operating results (EBITDA) will again exceed the
previous year's level.
Photos (print quality) of Frankfurt Airport and Fraport AG may
be downloaded free of charge via the Internet at http://www.fraport.com, menu
item "Press Center", then "Photo Archive".
Furthermore, footage material for TV journalists is available
for downloading free of charge at http://fraport.cms-gomex.com
For More 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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