- EBITDA rises by 10.2% to € 120.4 million
- Scheduled deprecation on Check-in 3 reduces EBIT to € 59.4 million (-13.4%) and net profit to € 40.9 million (-16.6%)
- Full year target for net debt already met at € 683 million by end of June – investments reduced to € 100 million
2013-08-16 — /travelprnews.com/ — Flughafen Wien AG successfully mastered the first half of 2013 despite numerous challenges created by the extremely severe winter with numerous flight cancellations, strikes at airline companies and key airports, capacity adjustments by airlines and the lack of an extra calendar day (i.e. leap day in 2012). Passenger traffic, flight movements, maximum take-off weight and cargo declined during the first six months of 2013, but revenue rose by 3.8% to€ 304.8 million and EBITDA increased by 10.2%. Net debt was reduced by a further € 36.6 million to € 683.0 million. Free cash flow tripled year-on-year during the first six months to € 68.3 million. Scheduled depreciation on Check-in 3 reduced as expected EBIT to € 59.4 million (-13.4%), and net profit after non-controlling interests to € 40.9 million (-16.6%).
Flughafen Wien confirms earnings targets for 2013
Flughafen Wien confirms the previously announced earnings guidance for 2013: EBITDA is expected to increase to over € 230 million and net profit should top € 65 million. Net debt should fall below € 680 million by year-end. Revenue should reach € 625 million, but could be slightly lower if there is a decline in the number of passengers. With respect to traffic, Flughafen Wien AG still expects the development of passenger traffic will range from minus 1% to plus 1%. Flight movements are forecasted to decline by 4% to 6% and maximum take-off weight (MTOW) should slightly decline.
“The measures introduced to reduce costs and improve productivity have brought positive results. With this latest reduction in net debt, we have already met our target for 2013 and are now aiming for a further improvement to under € 680 million. Free cash flow also tripled during the past half-year. That strengthens the company’s financial power and is a course we intend to follow“, explained Günther Ofner, member of the Management Board (CFO) of Flughafen Wien AG.
“Traffic development in the first half of 2013 was challenging throughout Europe. The branch is under substantial cost pressure which is reflected, above all, in capacity reductions by the airlines. We are well-positioned and have a sound cost structure, as is illustrated by the constant level of personnel expenses despite increases defined by collective bargaining agreements. The first signs of market recovery have appeared, and the airlines see an improvement in the seat load factor“, commented Julian Jäger, member of the Management Board (COO) of Flughafen Wien AG.
Passenger traffic in the first half of 2013
Vienna Airport handled a total of 10,241,736 passengers during the first half of 2013, which represents a year-on-year decline of 1.7%. The development of traffic was influenced by numerous external factors, including the extremely severe winter and resulting limitations on air traffic across Europe during the first quarter, flight cancellations due to strikes at other airports, on-going capacity adjustments by the airlines and the lack of an extra calendar day (i.e. leap day in 2012). The number of transfer passengers fell 6.4% below the comparable 2012 level. Passenger traffic to destinations in Eastern Europe fell by 2.9% in the first half-year, while the West European destinations remained largely stable with a minus of 0.4%. Traffic was 4.9% lower to destinations in the Middle East and 10.9% lower to the Far East. Africa recorded growth in the number of passengers with an increase of 3.7%.
The Austrian Airlines Group handled 49.2% of the total number of passengers using Vienna Airport from January to June 2013, and carried 2.8% less passengers during this period. NIKI recorded a decline of 8.5% in the number of passengers during the first half of 2013 and a 10.6% share of the total passengers in Vienna.
The decline in flight movements was stronger than the decrease in passenger traffic, amounting to a minus 6.4% to 112,806 movements. This led to an improvement in the seat load factor from 69.7% in the first half of 2012 to 72.5%. The lower number of flight movements and cargo flights led to a decline of 5.1% in maximum take-off weight (MTOW) to 3,810,878 tonnes. Cargo volume (air cargo and trucking) fell by 6.2% to 122,872 tonnes.
Revenue development in the segments
Revenue in the Airport Segment rose by € 11.2 million, or 7.7%, to € 156.5 million for the first half of 2013. The Handling Segment recorded a slight 1.8% decline in revenue to € 79.2 million because of a decline in cargo volumes, despite positive development in June. The Retail & Properties Segment recorded a 1.7% increase in revenue to € 60.6 million. Revenue in the Other Segments increased 6.5% to € 8.5 million.
Investments
A total of € 37.0 million was invested during the first half of 2013, whereby the major project involved the renovation of Runway 16/34 at € 23.3 million. A further € 4.6 million was spend on the expansion of a forwarding agent building. Investments for the full 2013 financial year have been reduced and are now expected to total € 100 million.
Development of traffic in July 2013: minus 1.3% in passengers, plus 7.7% in cargo
The number of passengers handled by Vienna Airport in July 2013 declined 1.3% year-on-year to 2,165,015. This development resulted, above all, from capacity reductions by the airlines, for example through the re-fitting of the Austrian Airlines Group long-haul fleet.
Declines were recorded in the number of flight movements with minus 4.2% and maximum take-off weight with minus 0.7%. Cargo traffic rose by 7.7%. The number of transfer passengers using Vienna Airport in July 2013 was 1.5% lower than in July 2012. The number of local passengers declined 1.1% during this same period.
Passenger traffic to Eastern Europe was 2.1% lower than in July of the previous year. The number of passengers travelling to Western Europe increased 1.1%, while the Middle East recorded a decline of 15.7% in July 2013.
Traffic Results in Detail
| July 2013 | Change in % | January toJuly 2013 | Change in % | |
| Passengers: | 2,165,015 | -1.3 | 12,406,751 | -1.7 |
| Local passengers: | 1,444,187 | -1.1 | 8,593,077 | +0.3 |
| Transfer passengers: | 718,370 | -1.5 | 3,800,460 | -5.5 |
| Maximum take-off weight (in tonnes): |
719,858 | -0.7 | 4,530,736 | -4.4 |
| Flight movements (arrival + departure): |
21,129 | -4.2 | 133,935 | -6.0 |
| Cargo in tonnes(air cargo and trucking): | 20,430 | +7.7 | 143,302 | -4.5 |
For additional information contact:
Corporate Communications Flughafen Wien AG
Press Office:
Peter Kleemann (+43-1-) 7007-23000
p.kleemann@viennaairport.com
Clemens Schleinzer (+43-1-) 7007-22399
c.schleinzer@viennaairport.com
Stefanie Tomanek (+43-1-) 7007-26939
s.tomanek@viennaairport.com
Investor Relations:
Judit Helenyi (+43-1-)7007-23126
j.helenyi@viennaairport.com
Mario Santi (+43-1-) 7007-22826
m.santi@viennaairport.com