Frankfurt Airport owner Fraport Group has reported a notable rise in revenue and profit for the first nine months of 2024, with total revenue up +12.2% to €3.393 billion and EBITDA increasing by +9.5% to €1.051 billion.
Almost half of the EBITDA was driven by Fraport’s international business, contributing to +21.6% growth in Group net profit, reaching €434 million. The company has confirmed that its annual financial forecasts remain on target.
Fraport Group CEO Dr Stefan Schulte expressed concern over the regulatory cost structure for aviation in Germany, highlighting its impact on passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport.
He said: “The location costs set by regulators are too high in Germany. They are a major reason why our home market lags behind others in Europe in terms of the recovery of passenger numbers.
“We’re also feeling the effects of Germany’s limited capacity growth at Frankfurt Airport. Over the past nine months, we’ve continued to remain around 14% below the passenger numbers we experienced in pre-pandemic 2019.
“By comparison, we’re well ahead of 2019 figures at many of our international subsidiary airports, where we’ve set new passenger records. We’ve done particularly well at our 14 Greek airports, as well as in Antalya and Lima.
“We’re benefitting from this performance financially, as seen by the solid improvement in our results over the past nine months.”
Frankfurt Airport’s traffic has increased +4.9% year-on-year to 46.7 million passengers. However, the pace of growth slowed from +10.4% in Q1 to +1.8% in Q3, with passenger volumes in Q3 still trailing 2019 levels by 13%.
Dr Schulte attributed this lag to high operational costs, including aviation taxes, security fees and air traffic control charges, which have increased +53% for intra-European flights from Frankfurt since 2019. Operational costs for long-haul flights from Frankfurt have also soared.
Dr Schulte remarked: “Given these trends in costs, airlines are continuing to expand their offerings in other markets where they pay lower fees to governments. Politicians in Berlin need to finally take action on this point.
“In Frankfurt, we’re expecting only minimal growth during the winter schedule as a result of fundamental factors, because of this competitive disadvantage.”
Internationally, Fraport’s portfolio saw robust growth with its 14 Greek airports reporting an +18.2% increase in passenger numbers compared to 2019.
Antalya International Airport on the Turkish Riviera saw a +5.6% rise, while Lima International Airport in Peru achieved a +2.7% increase over pre-pandemic levels.
This growth supported a strong Q3, with Fraport’s revenue rising +11.0% to €1.354 billion.
Adjusted for construction-related revenues, Q3 revenue rose +10.9% to €1.201 billion. Half of the approximately €60 million increase came from Fraport’s international portfolio.
However, EBITDA growth remained modest at +1.2%, reaching €483.7 million. The results were impacted by the closure of Porto Alegre Airport in Brazil due to flooding.
The third-quarter result at €273.2 million was almost identical to that seen in Q3 2023 – €272 million.
Fraport expects full-year passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport to land at the lower end of its 61-65 million target.
Based on year-to-date performance, Group EBITDA is forecasted to fall within the mid-range of €1.260 to €1.360 billion, while Group net profit is projected between €435 and €530 million. ✈
All images courtesy of Fraport Group
