Fraport Group interim release for the first half of 2017: Group result rises significantly

Group revenue and EBITDA show positive performance – Passenger figures grow noticeably at FRA and other Group airports FRA/gk-rap – In the first six months of the 2017 business year (January to June), Fraport AG’s Group revenue advanced to almost €1.4 billion, an increase of €130.6 million or 10.7 percent year-on-year. Reasons for this positive performance included strong passenger growth and higher revenue gained from property sales, as well as increased retail revenue achieved at the Group’s home base Frankfurt Airport. Beyond Frankfurt, revenue growth was driven, in particular, by the Group’s Fraport Greece subsidiary, which commenced operations on April 11, 2017, and Fraport’s Lima Airport subsidiary. The increase in operating expenses resulted, in particular, from the rise in personnel expenses at Fraport AG; higher concession payments (traffic- related) at the Lima subsidiary; increased expenses paid in connection with higher revenue from property sales in the Retail & Real Estate business segment; and the takeover of operations at the Greek regional airports. The Group’s EBITDA and EBIT both increased markedly by 11.0 percent to €420 million and by 12.2 percent to €240.7 million, respectively. Also the improved financial result led to a significant surge in the Group’s EBT, growing by €44.5 million or 30.5 percent to €190.3 million. With payments for taxes on income amounting to €53.4 million (in 6M/2016: €46.1 million), the Group result (net profit) reached €136.9 million – an increase of €37.2 million. Reflecting the positive operational performance across the Group, free cash flow expanded by 32.7 percent, from €149.3 million to €198.1 million in the first six months of 2017.  August 3, 2017 ANR 29/2017 Commenting on the Group’s positive operational and financial performance in the first six months of the year, Fraport AG’s executive board chairman, Dr. Stefan Schulte, said: “We are looking back on a successful first half 2017. Our business areas have developed well, both at Frankfurt Airport and our Group airports worldwide.” Frankfurt Airport (FRA) served some 30 million passengers in the first half of 2017, thus posting a new historic record and exceeding the previous year’s level by a noticeable 4.5 percent. Cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) climbed by 5.3 percent year-on-year, to nearly 1.1 million metric tons. Hence, cargo traffic continued its growth trend from the second half of 2016, in tandem with economic growth. Passenger numbers also increased across the Fraport Group’s international portfolio of airports. Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia’s capital welcomed some 723,000 passengers in the first six months of 2017, an increase of 20.8 percent compared to the same period last year. The 14 Greek regional airports welcomed more than 9.6 million passengers, up 11.9 percent. Lima Airport (LIM) in Peru continued to record noticeable traffic growth of 8.4 percent to almost 9.7 million passengers. The airports of Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast saw combined traffic grow by 9.4 percent year-on-year to some 1.3 million passengers. Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey registered traffic growth of 29.4 percent to about 9.5 million passengers. Almost 7.1 million passengers passed through Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St. Petersburg, Russia, representing a gain of 25.4 percent. Hanover Airport (HAJ) in northern Germany received some 2.6 million passengers in the first half of 2017, up 4.9 percent. Xi’an Airport (XIY) in China continued to achieve dynamic growth, with traffic rising by 14.4 percent to about 20.1 million passengers. In view of the robust demand for air travel, Fraport AG’s executive board has revised Frankfurt Airport’s traffic outlook for the 2017 business year slightly upward, with passenger figures expected to increase by approximately five percent. Despite this, Fraport’s financial outlook remains unchanged, as the executive board expects non-capitalizable start-up costs of up to €15 million for the two Brazilian airport concessions won in business year 2017. In view of the upcoming takeover of Fortaleza (FOR) and Port Alegre (POA) airports in Brazil and the investment program planned for these gateways, Fraport AG’s executive board expects the Group’s overall net financial debt to rise to some 1.2 billion during the full year 2017 – in line with the outlook already reported in Fraport’s First Quarter 2017 Interim Release. The complete H1/Q2 Interim Release is available on Fraport AG’s website.