During the first half of fiscal 2019 ending June 30, the German airport operator Fraport Group achieved growth in both revenue and earnings.
Group revenue increased by 5.2 per cent to €1.51 billion, after adjusting for revenue in connection with capital expenditures made for expansion projects at Fraport Group’s airports worldwide.
At Frankfurt Airport, factors contributing to revenue growth included higher proceeds from ground handling services and infrastructure charges, as well as from the retail and parking business.
In Fraport’s international portfolio, major contributions came from the Lima Airport Partners subsidiary in Peru, as well as from Fraport USA and Fraport Greece.
The operating result or Group EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) advanced by 10.9 per cent or by €50.2 million to €511.5 million in the reporting period.
The increase can be attributed, in particular, to the positive performance of the ground handling and retail & real estate business segments in Frankfurt, with both segments benefitting, among other things, from traffic growth at Frankfurt Airport.
Fraport saw an improved financial result, and net profit rose by €24.1 million or 17.1 per cent to €164.9 million in the reporting period.
Fraport AG’s executive board chairman, Stefan Schulte said: “In the first half of 2019, we successfully held our ground amid the overall challenging market environment.
“I am particularly pleased that we have been able to further increase our passenger satisfaction levels despite intensified peak traffic, while also reducing wait times at the security checkpoints. We remain strongly committed to further optimising our processes.”
Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed more than 33.6 million passengers in the first six months of 2019, representing an increase of three per cent year-on-year.
Most of Fraport’s Group airports worldwide also recorded passenger growth in the reporting period. Only the two Bulgarian airports of Varna and Burgas saw combined traffic drop by 12.9 per cent, with this trend expected to continue over the course of the year.
For the full year 2019, Fraport AG’s executive board is maintaining its traffic forecast for FRA, where passenger numbers are expected to rise between about two and three per cent.
The executive board is forecasting in the 2019 business year, that Group EBITDA will be between €1,160 million and €1,195 million; Group EBIT between €685 million and €725 million; Group EBT between €570 million and €615 million; and net profit between €420 million and €460 million.
