Record financial result achieved due to manilla compensation payment – Airports in Fraport’s international portfolio report mixed results
Fraport AG kijkt terug op een succesvol boekjaar 2016 (eindigend op 31 december), dat werd gekenmerkt door een financieel recordresultaat dat werd behaald ondanks uitdagende randvoorwaarden voor de luchtvaartindustrie en een licht dalend verkeer op de thuisbasis van de groep op Frankfurt Airport.
Group revenue declined by 0.5 percent year-on-year to €2.59 billion. Adjusting for changes in the scope of consolidation due to the sale of shares in Fraport Cargo Services (FCS) and the disposal of the Air-Transport IT Services subsidiary, Group revenue would have risen by €46.2 million or 1.8 percent. This resulting increase in revenue (on an adjusted basis) was stimulated in particular by the ongoing growth at the Group’s airports in Lima (Peru) and Varna and Burgas (Bulgaria), as well as at the Fraport USA subsidiary, and by revenue gained from property sales.
The Group’s operating profit or EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) advanced by 24.2 percent, reaching a new record high of €1.05 billion. This strong growth was supported by the compensation payment received for the Manila terminal project, which boosted EBITDA by €198.8 million. Fraport’s successful sale of a 10.5 percent share in Thalita Trading Ltd., the owner of the operating company of Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg (Russia), contributed another €40.1 million to EBITDA. Adjusting for these effects and the creation of provisions for a personnel-restructuring program, the Group’s EBITDA would have remained on the previous year’s level of about €853 million. Although this adjusted EBITDA was curbed by previous year’s weaker traffic performance and a slowdown in FRA’s retail business, reflecting lower spending by passengers, the Group’s external business also had a compensating positive effect on EBITDA.
The Group result (net profit) increased by 34.8 percent to €400.3 million. Without the aforementioned effects and unscheduled depreciation and amortization, Fraport’s Group result would only have reached about €296 million. In contrast, operating cash flow declined by 10.6 percent to €583.2 million. Likewise, free cash flow contracted by 23.3 percent to €301.7 million, also due to ongoing construction of Frankfurt Airport’s future Terminal 3.
Traffic at the company’s Frankfurt Airport (FRA) home-base slightly declined by 0.4 percent to approximately 61 million passengers in 2016. This was, in particular, a result of the relatively weak spring and summer months characterized by markedly restrained travel bookings in the wake of geopolitical uncertainties. In the last quarter of 2016, traffic figures noticeably rebounded, even reaching a new December monthly record. Cargo tonnage expanded by 1.8 percent to some 2.1 million metric tons, helped by the economic recovery in summer 2016.
Fraport’s international portfolio of airports displayed mixed results in 2016. The strong 30.9 percent decline in traffic at Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey – which was impacted by the country’s geopolitical and security situation – could be largely offset by the traffic performance of Group airports at other locations. Strong growth was recorded in particular at Lima Airport (LIM) in Peru (up 10.1 percent), Burgas Airport (BOJ) and Varna Airport (VAR) on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast (up 22.0 percent and 20.8 percent, respectively), and Xi’an Airport (XIY) in China (up 12.2 percent).
On the basis of the Group’s positive financial performance, a dividend of €1.50 per share will be recommended to the 2017 Annual General Meeting. This corresponds to an increase of €0.15 or 11.1 percent per share and to a payout ratio of 36.9 percent of the Group result attributable to shareholders.
Commenting on Fraport AG’s business performance in 2016, executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte stated: “Despite the challenges of the 2016 business year, we have achieved our best annual result ever. The sale of the 10.5 percent share in our Pulkovo Airport subsidiary in St. Petersburg has demonstrated that we are able to develop international airport concessions even amid difficult market environments. We will therefore continue to consistently pursue our strategy of operating a broadly diversified international portfolio.”
Voor het boekjaar 2017 verwacht Fraport dat het verkeer op Frankfurt Airport met 2 tot 4 procent zal groeien. De omzet zal naar verwachting een merkbare stijging laten zien tot ongeveer € 2.9 miljard, ondersteund door een positieve verkeersgroei op zowel Frankfurt Airport als de internationale luchthavens van Fraport. Ook de verwachte consolidatie van de activiteiten van de Groep in Griekenland zal bijdragen tot een duidelijke stijging van de omzet. Het bedrijfsresultaat (of EBITDA) van de Groep zal naar verwachting een niveau tussen ongeveer € 980 miljoen en € 1,020 miljoen bereiken, terwijl de EBIT naar verwachting tussen ongeveer € 610 miljoen en € 650 miljoen zal bedragen. Het groepsresultaat zal naar verwachting tussen € 310 miljoen en € 350 miljoen bedragen.
Over de zakelijke vooruitzichten van de Groep voor 2017 zei CEO Schulte: “We zijn optimistisch over het huidige boekjaar en verwachten dat het verkeer op Frankfurt Airport zowel in het goedkope segment als in het traditionele hubverkeer zal groeien. Tegelijkertijd zullen we onze internationale activiteiten strategisch blijven ontwikkelen. Door de exploitatie van de 14 Griekse luchthavens over te nemen, zullen we verder groeipotentieel ontketenen.”
In view of the expected long-term traffic growth at Frankfurt Airport, construction of the new Terminal 3 is being pushed forward as scheduled, with the first construction phase expected to be completed by 2023. The focus of Fraport’s international business is currently on the take-over of operations at the 14 Greek airports, which is expected to take place in the next few weeks.
Overzicht van de vier bedrijfssegmenten van Fraport:
Luchtvaart:
Revenue in the Aviation business segment declined by 1.8 percent to €910.2 million in business year 2016. This was largely due to the slight drop in passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport, the loss of the tender to perform security services in Concourse B, and lower revenue from the re-allocation of infrastructure costs. The creation of provisions for a personnel-restructuring program, higher wages in business year 2016 due to collective agreements, as well as higher non-staff costs let the segment’s EBITDA decline by 8.3 percent to €217.9 million. Depreciation and amortization increased significantly year-on-year, particularly due to the full unscheduled depreciation and amortization of the goodwill in the FraSec GmbH subsidiary in the amount of €22.4 million, as a result of the company’s lower long-term earnings forecast compared to previous years. Correspondingly, the segment’s EBIT significantly dropped by 39.5 percent to €70.4 million.
Retail & Vastgoed:
De omzet in het segment Retail & Real Estate steeg in boekjaar 1.2 met 493.9 procent tot € 2016 miljoen, ondanks de vertraging in het subsegment retail. De omzetontwikkeling werd positief beïnvloed door de verkoop van grond en de gewijzigde presentatie van huuropbrengsten als gevolg van wijzigingen in de consolidatiekring met betrekking tot de verkoop van aandelen in de dochteronderneming Frankfurt Cargo Services (FCS). De netto retailomzet per passagier bedroeg € 3.49 (2015: € 3.62). De daling was toe te schrijven aan lagere gemiddelde bestedingen door passagiers uit China, Rusland en Japan, en door de depreciatie van verschillende valuta's ten opzichte van de euro. Met € 368 miljoen was de EBITDA van het segment 2.9 procent lager dan vorig jaar, voornamelijk als gevolg van hogere personeelskosten. Deze waren met name toe te schrijven aan een grotere vraag naar arbeidskrachten, stijgende lonen vastgelegd in cao's en het creëren van voorzieningen voor een personeelsherstructureringsprogramma. Met vrijwel gelijkblijvende afschrijvingen en waardeverminderingen, bereikte de EBIT van het segment € 283.6 miljoen (daling van 3.9 procent).
Grondafhandeling:
In the 2016 business year, revenue in the Ground Handling business segment markedly decreased by 6.3 percent to €630.4 million compared to the previous year. This was due, in particular, to the sale of shares in the Fraport Cargo Services (FCS) subsidiary and slightly declining passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport. Adjusted for the effects from the sale of shares in FCS, segment revenue saw underlying growth of 1.8 percent. Reasons for this adjusted increase included a change in the presentation of personnel expenses as a result of changes in the scope of consolidation related to the sale of shares in the FCS subsidiary, as well as slightly higher revenue from infrastructure charges. The creation of provisions for a personnel-restructuring program and rising wages due to collective agreements led to a 25.2 percent decline in the segment’s EBITDA to €34.7 million. Contracting by €11.5 million to minus €5.5 million, the segment’s EBIT reached negative territory due to the provisions for the personnel-restructuring program.
Externe activiteiten en diensten:
Revenue in the External Activities & Services business segment increased by 8.1 percent to €551.7 million in business year 2016, supported in particular by the Group companies in Lima, Peru (up €27.8 million), Twin Star, Bulgaria (up €9.9 million) and Fraport USA Inc. (up €3.2 million). In addition, the compensation payment from the Manila terminal project and revenue gained from the sale of shares in Thalita Trading Ltd. had a markedly positive impact on the segment’s revenue. Due to these effects, also the segment’s EBITDA more than doubled, reaching €433.5 million (2015: €186.1 million). The segment’s EBIT showed similar growth, rising by €242.1 million to €345.2 million.
