Fraport says that the increase was supported by higher passenger volumes across the Group’s airports
Operator of airports in Europe and elsewhere in the world, Fraport says it has achieved growth in all major key financial indicators during the first half of 2023, ending June 30.
In a press statement, Fraport says that the increase was supported by higher passenger volumes across the Group’s airports. Group revenue rose by 33.8 pc year-on-year to EUR 1,804.3 million in the first six months of 2023. The operating result or Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBIDTA) reached EUR 481.4 million, up 17.9 pc. The Group’s net profit climbed to EUR 85 million in the reporting period.
Stefan Schulte
“In the second quarter of 2023, the positive performance continued from the start of the year. We are seeing sustained recovery in passenger demand across our portfolio of global airports. At our home base in Frankfurt, passenger numbers recovered to 80 pc of pre-crisis levels in the first half of 2023. We expect passenger traffic to further grow at Frankfurt Airport during the full year – including a rise in the share of business travelers. Our leisure-dominated Group airports worldwide have benefited most from the ongoing strong demand for holiday travel. This is particularly true for the Greek airports, which continued to clearly surpass the levels from pre-crisis 2019 during the first six months,” says Stefan Schulte, CEO of Fraport AG.
Key financial indicators improve in the first half
Applying the IFRIC 12 adjustment for revenues from construction and expansion measures at Fraport’s international subsidiaries, Group revenue increased by 27.8 pc year-on-year to EUR 1,548.6 million in the first six months of 2023. For the first time, the Group’s 6M revenue includes proceeds from aviation security fees levied by Fraport after assuming responsibility for security screening at Frankfurt Airport with the start of 2023.
With the operating result improving to EUR 481.4 million, the Group’s operating profit increased to EUR 245.9 million euros in the first half of 2023, up 35.2 pc year-on-year. Correspondingly, operating cash flow grew to EUR 293.8 million.
Passenger numbers at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) surged by 29.1 pc year-on-year to 26.9 million in the first six months of 2023, recovering to 79.9 pc of the pre-crisis levels achieved in 2019. European traffic benefited from strong demand for leisure travel to warm-weather destinations, says the airport operator.
Business travel within Europe also gradually improved, particularly to and from West Europe’s financial hubs. Intercontinental traffic saw high growth rates specifically for holiday destinations in North and Central Africa and the Caribbean. Traffic to and from North America also recorded strong passenger volumes, almost reaching pre-pandemic levels again. In contrast, traffic to and from China continued to lag behind this general trend, reaching only about a third of the 2019 level.
Among Fraport’s international portfolio of airports, the gateways in Greece led the line in the first half of 2023. At the 14 Greek regional airports, accumulated passenger numbers even surpassed the pre-crisis levels from 2019 by as much as 7.8 pc. Next was Antalya Airport (AYT) on the Turkish Mediterranean coast with a 96.2 pc recovery rate, followed by Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM) achieving a recovery rate of 85.4 pc compared to first half of 2019. At the two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA), combined traffic recovered to 84.7 pc of the pre-pandemic levels.
