Fraport Annual General Meeting 2011: Fraport on a Steady Course for Growth and Success Reports CEO Schulte
By Fraport Ag, PRNETuesday, May 31, 2011
FRANKFURT, Germany, June 1, 2011 -
- 2010 Best Year in the Company's History - Increase in Dividend to
EUR1.25 Recommended
At Fraport AG's 10th Annual General Meeting (AGM) today,
executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte presented the results of the
successful 2010 business year: "In every respect, 2010 can be characterized
as a year of strong growth for our company. This growth momentum resulted in
significantly improved profitability - which is important for dealing with
the financial burden of Frankfurt Airport's (FRA) huge expansion program."
All of Fraport's business segments are on the right course.
"Thanks to FRA's capacity expansion resulting from the new runway to be
inaugurated later this year and to our continuously improving operational
performance, we are well-positioned as one of the leading global aviation
hubs to meet the competition for the expected growth in traffic," stressed
Schulte.
In 2010, Fraport AG's Frankfurt Airport home base achieved a
noticeable increase in passenger figures and cargo tonnage. Both FRA's
capacity expansion and the comprehensive program for enhancing overall
service quality are making tremendous progress. The Group's international
business is also developing positively.
According Mr. Schulte, Fraport's success is driven by the
increase in traffic volumes as well as the good performance of the company's
international investment airports. With a total of about 53 million
passengers at FRA in 2010, Fraport saw traffic climb by more than four
percent year-on-year, even though European flights were grounded for several
days due to the ash cloud crisis as well as the severe winter weather at the
beginning and end of the year. The growth trend has also been continuing
throughout the first months of 2011. Air cargo recorded an even stronger
increase, rising by more than a fifth to 2.2 million metric tons last year.
Frankfurt Airport not only achieved the highest cargo figure in its history
but also confirmed its position as Europe's leading air cargo hub.
Last year's markedly climbing traffic figures led to a 9.2
percent rise in Group revenue to almost EUR2.2 billion. EBITDA (earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) improved by almost a
quarter to EUR710.6 million - primarily due to the positive development of
the Antalya Airport investment, the significant upward trend in the Ground
Handling segment, as well as continuously growing results in the Aviation
segment and the Retail and Real Estate segment. Group profit of EUR271.5
million clearly exceeded the previous year's level due to the positive
operating development and a release of provisions. "Thus, 2010 has been the
most successful year in the Fraport Group's history," stressed Schulte.
Therefore, the company will recommend to the AGM to raise the dividend by 10
euro cents to EUR1.25 per share.
In view of the ongoing heavy investments at FRA - almost
EUR775 million in 2010 for airport expansion - the increase in the operating
result (EBITDA) was necessary to enable the company to bear the rising
interest and depreciation costs resulting from these investments. Net debt
amounted to EUR2.0 billion at the end of 2010. Thus, gearing was
approximately 78 percent, with equity amounting to about EUR2.7 billion and
the equity ratio at 28.4 per cent.
Schulte described the forthcoming opening of the new Runway
Northwest as the most important contribution to securing Frankfurt Airport's
competitive future. Meanwhile, the concrete surface and the taxiway bridges
have already been completed. The first official landing of an aircraft on the
new runway is scheduled to take place on October 21, 2011. Until then, the
instrument landing system (ILS) still has to be installed and various test
flights conducted. When the new runway becomes operational, Frankfurt
Airport's capacity will increase from about 82 today to 90 aircraft movements
per hour. In the medium term, plans call for raising FRA's capacity to about
100 movements per hour by 2015. With passenger traffic expected to increase
by four to seven percent per year, Frankfurt Airport could be serving some 65
million passengers annually within four years.
To cope with this growth, other areas of the airport
infrastructure will be systematically expanded. For example, Schulte
mentioned the westward extension of Terminal 1, known as Pier A-Plus.
Construction of this mega pier is progressing on schedule and is expected to
be completed by the summer of 2012. Increasing the terminal's annual capacity
by six million passengers, Pier A-Plus will provide seven new parking
positions for wide-body aircraft, including four Airbus A380 superjumbos.
Plans are also under way for the construction of a third terminal. The first
phase of Terminal 3 is scheduled to be completed in late 2016 or early 2017.
Along with the expansion of the airport's infrastructure,
Fraport will also continue with its "Great to have you here!" initiative to
enhance customer service and the airport experience at FRA. During the past
year, the focus of the initiative was on shortening waiting times at security
checkpoints in the terminals. More than 90 percent of all passengers now have
to wait less than 10 minutes at the checkpoints. Newly designed waiting and
rest areas also provide a significantly enhanced passenger experience. In
addition, cleanliness throughout the terminals has been improved. Projects
for 2011 include improving signage and wayfinding, redesigning the Terminal 1
forecourt and upgrading sanitary facilities. In addition, Schulte announced
the launch of a new FRA smartphone app to help passengers navigate their way
through the terminals.
Regarding Fraport AG's international airport projects, Schulte
said that investing in growth markets had already paid off. All 13 airports,
where the Group is now engaged, recorded in some cases significant growth in
passenger numbers last year. In total, the Group's airports welcomed nearly
200 million passengers in 2010. Schulte highlighted the positive development
at Antalya Airport, Fraport's largest investment. After Fraport took over
operations of Antalya's second international terminal, the number of
passengers doubled compared to 2009. Antalya served a total of 22 million
passengers in 2010. This represents an underlying increase of more than 18
percent.
Schulte forecasts that passenger numbers will continue to grow
by four to seven percent in 2011. Revenue is expected to exceed EUR2.3
billion, while EBITDA is forecast to increase by 10 to 15 percent. The
current growth trend is very likely to continue in 2012. "Naturally, this
will only be possible if there are no traffic dips or constraints caused by
unpredictable events," explained Fraport's CEO.
"Certain weather conditions can restrict normal flight
operations despite the best planning and contingencies. The volatility of
today's global economy can cause turbulence in the markets, with an immediate
negative impact on air traffic. And politicians can make ill-considered
decisions causing flourishing industries to de-rail from the track to
success," Schulte said. For this reason, Schulte called on national and
European decision makers to avoid imposing unilateral burdens on the air
transportation sector. These burdens would impair the sector's global
competitiveness with negative impacts on companies and employees, as well as
on the primarily export-driven economies. "Air transport is one of the top
industries in Germany and we achieve good results and create new job
opportunities. We are committed to fulfilling this role in the future,"
concluded Schulte.
Print-quality photos of Frankfurt Airport and Fraport AG are
availale free for downloading via the Internet at www.fraport.com
(Menu: select Press Center > then Photo Service). For TV news and information
broadcasting purposes only, we also offer free footage material for
downloading via fraport.cms-gomex.com.
For Further Information, Please Contact:
Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. - Senior Mgr. International Press & PR
International Spokesman, Press Office (Dept. UKM-PS),
Corporate Communications, 60547 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel.: +49-69-690-78547; E-mail: r.payne@fraport.de;
mailto:r.payne@fraport.de; Internet: www.fraport.com
.
Tags: Frankfurt, Fraport AG, Germany, June 1