FRANKFURT, Germany, August 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- During the first six months of 2013, Fraport AG's revenue rose by 5.1 percent to €1.212 billion. As a result of revenue growth, also the operating result EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) advanced by 4.7 percent to €374.6 million. Despite higher depreciation and amortization expenses - primarily in connection with the "Pier A-Plus" terminal extension - the Group result edged up one percent to a total of €82.1 million year-on-year.
Fraport AG's international airport business was one of the main drivers behind the increase, with the Group's External Activities & Services segment posting a gain of €11.8 million (+11.8 percent). At the Group's Frankfurt Airport (FRA) home base, the two business segments Aviation and Retail & Real Estate also contributed to the overall positive result, rising by €7.8 million (+10.1 percent) and €7.2 million (+4.4 percent) respectively. Benefiting from the positive development of the new Pier A-Plus, retail revenue continued to improve to €3.56 per passenger - an increase of 10.2 percent. By contrast, the operating result of the Ground Handling segment, which comprises ground handling and cargo services, shrank by €9.9 million to a total of €5.5 million, reflecting a decline in aircraft movements and maximum take-off weights.
With 27.1 million passengers served in the first six months of 2013, passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) was down one percent compared to the first half of 2012. Across the Group's airports, however, passenger volumes increased by 3.2 percent to some 45.6 million passengers in the period between January and June 2013. This was mainly due to passenger growth at Fraport's majority-owned airports in Lima (LIM), Peru, and Antalya (AYT), Turkey. Cargo throughput at FRA slightly improved by 0.9 percent, rising to 1.02 million metric tons. Group-wide, cargo volume rose by 1.2 percent to 1.15 million metric tons.
In view of the financial results of the first half of 2013, Fraport AG's executive board chairman, Dr. Stefan Schulte, confirmed the outlook for the full year 2013, while admitting that the industry is operating in an ever more challenging environment. "We expect revenue to grow by up to five percent and the operating result EBITDA to reach a range of €870 to €890 million over the year, compared to €850.7 million in the previous year. Due to the inauguration of Pier A-Plus and the resulting higher depreciation and amortization costs, we still expect the Group result to decline in the current business year," said Schulte.
Schulte further explained that the air transportation industry is currently undergoing a consolidation phase. The uncertainties of the global economy and the euro crisis have an impact on the demand for air traffic, with airlines adjusting their offerings to meet the changing demand. In the long term, however, all forecasts expect that the
need for mobility will continue to increase. In the medium and long term, Schulte thus expects traffic figures to rise again also at Frankfurt Airport. "Thanks to our investments in the new runway and the terminals, we are well prepared for the future," concluded Schulte.
You can download all documents concerning the Interim Report from the Fraport website. The documents can be found at http://www.fraport.com under Investor Relations > Events and Publications > Group Interim Reports.
For Further Information, Please Contact:
Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. - International Spokesman and Head of International Press/PR & External Activities Team, Press Office (UKM-PS), Corporate Communications, 60547 Frankfurt, Germany; Tel.: +49 69.690.78547; E-mail: [email protected]; Internet: http://www.fraport.com; http://www.airportcarbonaccreditation.org
SOURCE Fraport AG
