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Vibrant in Vienna: Retail and food & beverage were among the big drivers of revenue for the Retail & Properties division (pictured is Heinemann Duty Free in the T3 Non-Schengen zone) |
AUSTRIA. Vienna Airport’s Retail & Properties division delivered revenue growth of +1.4% year-on-year in 2013, to €121.2 million, the company announced this week. The figures came against a backdrop of declining traffic, with passenger numbers dipping by -0.7% to 22 million.
Retail & Properties growth was supported chiefly by higher income from shopping and food & beverage as well as advertising, said the company. As we reported on a visit last year, Vienna Airport is continuing with a major investment drive to upgrade the quality of retail and food & beverage across its estate. This included the opening of 29 new outlets during 2013.
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With further commercial projects running into the months ahead, it will mean that in a two-year period (summer 2012 to summer 2014) Vienna Airport will have opened or refurbished 90 stores and restaurants.
Overall, revenue rose by +2.4% to €622 million and EBITDA improved by +9.1% to €241.5 million, with net profit climbing +1.3% to €73.3 million.
The steady development of the company is also reflected in its market valuation: the price of the Flughafen Wien share has risen by +129% since the beginning of 2012. Market capitalisation increased from €547 million at the beginning of 2012 to around €1,377 million as of 21 February 2014.
The company noted: “The outlook for 2014 points to a continuation of the upward trend: the number of passengers should increase between +1% and +3%, while the development of flight movements should range from -1% to +1%. Against this backdrop, revenue is expected to rise to over €630 million, EBITDA to over €240 million and net profit to over €75 million. Net debt should fall below €600 million (from €633 million today).”
Flughafen Wien AG Management Board Member Günther Ofner said: “The company’s productivity has improved significantly since 2011, and the EBITDA margin has increased substantially from 32.5% to 38.8%. The clear strategic goals for 2014 are focused on growth, the improvement of quality and the expansion of the non-aviation business.”
Management Board Member Julian Jäger added: “We are optimistic over the development of business in 2014. New airlines such as Air China, Air Algérie and Jet2.com have already announced the start of flights to Vienna. Our forecasts for 2014 call for an increase in the number of passengers.”
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A joint Versace and Zilli boutique in T2 was among 29 new stores that opened in 2013 |
The company said 2013 had been “a challenging year” for traffic. It was characterised by a difficult market environment for aviation throughout Europe, Vienna Airport noted, with “capacity reductions by the airlines, crisis situations in Egypt and the Middle East as well as numerous flight cancellations due to the severe winter with extremely heavy snowfall and strikes in Germany”.
The number of departures and arrivals fell by -5.5%, but the seat occupancy factor rose by 1.9 percentage points to 74.8% in 2013.
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