FRANKFURT, Germany,
May 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Dr. Schulte: "Forecast for the Year
Remains Unchanged"
- Traffic Figures Affected by Weather
and Strike-related Flight Cancellations
Fraport's Group revenue rose by €12.3 million to €550.2 million
in the first quarter of 2013, a 2.3 percent increase year-on-year.
This rise can be attributed to Frankfurt Airport's growth in
revenue from airport charges and from gains in the retail business,
spurred by the inauguration of the new Pier A-Plus in October 2012. Furthermore, Fraport's
international business continued to develop positively, especially
at the Group's subsidiary in Lima,
Peru.
EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and
amortization) declined by 4.6 percent or €6.3 million to €131.1
million - thus falling short of last year's figure due mainly to
one-time revenue realized from land sales in the first quarter of
2012. The Group result dropped by €10.3 million to €4.5
million, primarily because of increased depreciation and
amortization in connection with the inauguration of FRA's Pier
A-Plus. Correspondingly, basic earnings per share slipped by €0.10
to €0.06. Free cash flow reached minus €96.4 million at the end of
the first quarter (Q1/2012: minus €125.0 million).
Strike and weather-related flight cancellations, as well as a
reduction in flight offerings by various airlines, led to a
two-percent drop in traffic to 11.9 million passengers at Frankfurt
Airport in the first quarter of 2013. Group-wide, passenger
traffic rose by 1.6 percent to about 17.8 million, due mainly to
the strong performance at Lima
(LIM) and Antalya (AYT) airports.
Cargo throughput at FRA improved slightly by 0.9 percent to
approximately 493,000 metric tons and at the Group airports by 1.7
percent to almost 556,000 metric tons. Aircraft movements (down 5.8
percent) and MTOWs (down 5.3 percent) were impacted by the above
mentioned effects as well as the loss of Leap Day in 2013 (versus
2012).
Commenting on the 2013 first quarter results, Fraport's
executive board chairman Dr. Stefan
Schulte said: "A critical business environment in
Europe as well as weather and
strike-related flight cancellations in Frankfurt impacted our development in the
first quarter of 2013. We expect the German economy to
improve slightly during the course of the year. This, however, will
not be easily transferable to the rest of Europe. Hence, for 2013, we do not anticipate
a drastic economic change, which would positively affect the air
transportation industry in general and the Fraport Group in
particular. Our 2013 forecast for traffic figures and earnings
remains unchanged."
Fraport expects passenger figures at Frankfurt Airport to remain
at about the same level as in the 2012 fiscal year. For the
major Group companies outside Frankfurt, the growth in passenger figures is
expected to continue. The Group EBITDA 2013 is expected to
range between €870 million and €890 million, while the Group result
is expected to decline. The outlook for Fraport's business segments
is also forecast to remain unchanged. The decline in MTOWs at
FRA will possibly impact the Ground Handling segment and could lead
to a negative result for this segment.
If further strike measures affect flight operations during the
remainder of the year, then growth of the actual financial and
traffic figures -
particularly at Frankfurt Airport - could deviate from the
forecast.
The Fraport Group Interim Report (January
1 to March 3, 2013) is available for viewing and downloading
via the following link:
http://www.fraport.com/content/fraport/en/investor-relations.html
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: r.payne@fraport.de;
Internet: http://www.fraport.com;
http://www.airportcarbonaccreditation.org
SOURCE Fraport AG