Fraport Group Interim Release – First Half 2018: Positive Business Performance Achieved Despite Numerous Challenges

Revenue and EBITDA increase significantly – Group result on the rise – Frankfurt Airport and Fraport Group airports record strong passenger growth

The Fraport Group closed the first six months of the 2018 business year (ending June 30) with a significant 13.0 percent rise in Group revenue to €1.532 billion. At the Group’s Frankfurt Airport (FRA) home base, the increase was driven, in particular, by traffic growth – resulting in higher proceeds from airport charges and security services, a rise in charges from ground services and infrastructure, as well as higher parking revenue. Fraport’s international business also contributed to revenue growth, with major contributions coming from Fraport Greece (plus €83.5 million) and Fraport Brasil (plus €76.4 million). In the first half of 2017, the two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) were not yet operated by Fraport Brasil and thus not incorporated into the Group.

The operational result or EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) also increased significantly by 9.8 percent year-on-year to €461.3 million, but was dampened, among other things, by traffic-related higher personnel expenses for ground handling and security services at FRA. Higher interest expenses for Fraport Greece and the two Fortaleza and Porto Alegre subsidiaries had a negative influence on the Group’s financial result – slipping from minus €50.4 million in the first half of 2017 to minus €77.4 million in the reporting period. This led to a Group result (net profit) of €140.8 million, up 2.8 percent.

Due to higher investments at FRA and Fraport’s international Group airports, free cash flow decreased by €221.3 million to minus €23.2 million in the first six months of 2018.

Frankfurt Airport served 32.7 million passengers in the first half of 2018 – an increase of 9.1 percent. With about 1.1 million metric tons, cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) remained almost stable year-on-year. Across the Group, all airports in Fraport’s international portfolio posted strong passenger growth.

Summarizing the first half of the 2018 business year, Fraport AG’s executive board chairman, Dr. Stefan Schulte, said: “The ongoing growth underscores Frankfurt Airport’s attractiveness as a global aviation hub, but also poses great challenges to all of us. It was only thanks to the excellent cooperation with our partners, government agencies and our airline customers and the outstanding commitment of all airport employees that we were able to accommodate the considerable growth experienced in the first half of this year. Overall, we have delivered a positive business performance despite numerous challenges.”

In view of FRA’s strong traffic growth in the first six months of the year, Fraport AG’s executive board now expects passenger numbers to reach slightly over 69 million for the full 2018 business year. Excluding the effects from Fraport’s expected divestiture of Hanover Airport (HAJ), the executive board is maintaining its outlook for the Group’s key financial figures and expects them to reach the upper levels of the margins forecast in the Annual Report at the beginning of the year (Group EBITDA: between approximately €1,080 million and €1,110 million; Group EBIT: between about €690 million and €720 million; Group EBT: between some €560 million and €590 million; Group Result: between approximately €400 million and €430 million).

Following the expected sale of Fraport’s stake in Hanover Airport, the executive board expects the divestiture to contribute some €25 million to Group EBITDA and about €85 million to Group EBT. After deduction of related income tax liabilities, the Hanover transaction will also have a positive impact of about 77 million euros on the Group result (net profit). Taking into account these special effects, Fraport’s executive board expects the Group’s EBITDA, EBIT, EBT and Group Result to exceed the above-mentioned margins for the full 2018 business year.

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