Fraport Interim Report: 1st Quarter 2013: Group Financial Results Published for January-to-March Period

FRANKFURT, Germany, May 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Dr. Schulte: "Forecast for the Year Remains Unchanged"

- Traffic Figures Affected by Weather and Strike-related Flight Cancellations

Fraport's Group revenue rose by €12.3 million to €550.2 million in the first quarter of 2013, a 2.3 percent increase year-on-year.  This rise can be attributed to Frankfurt Airport's growth in revenue from airport charges and from gains in the retail business, spurred by the inauguration of the new Pier A-Plus in October 2012. Furthermore, Fraport's international business continued to develop positively, especially at the Group's subsidiary in Lima, Peru.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) declined by 4.6 percent or €6.3 million to €131.1 million - thus falling short of last year's figure due mainly to one-time revenue realized from land sales in the first quarter of 2012.  The Group result dropped by €10.3 million to €4.5 million, primarily because of increased depreciation and amortization in connection with the inauguration of FRA's Pier A-Plus. Correspondingly, basic earnings per share slipped by €0.10 to €0.06. Free cash flow reached minus €96.4 million at the end of the first quarter (Q1/2012: minus €125.0 million).

Strike and weather-related flight cancellations, as well as a reduction in flight offerings by various airlines, led to a two-percent drop in traffic to 11.9 million passengers at Frankfurt Airport in the first quarter of 2013.  Group-wide, passenger traffic rose by 1.6 percent to about 17.8 million, due mainly to the strong performance at Lima (LIM) and Antalya (AYT) airports.  

Cargo throughput at FRA improved slightly by 0.9 percent to approximately 493,000 metric tons and at the Group airports by 1.7 percent to almost 556,000 metric tons. Aircraft movements (down 5.8 percent) and MTOWs (down 5.3 percent) were impacted by the above mentioned effects as well as the loss of Leap Day in 2013 (versus 2012).

Commenting on the 2013 first quarter results, Fraport's executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte said:  "A critical business environment in Europe as well as weather and strike-related flight cancellations in Frankfurt impacted our development in the first quarter of 2013.  We expect the German economy to improve slightly during the course of the year. This, however, will not be easily transferable to the rest of Europe. Hence, for 2013, we do not anticipate a drastic economic change, which would positively affect the air transportation industry in general and the Fraport Group in particular. Our 2013 forecast for traffic figures and earnings remains unchanged."

Fraport expects passenger figures at Frankfurt Airport to remain at about the same level as in the 2012 fiscal year.  For the major Group companies outside Frankfurt, the growth in passenger figures is expected to continue.  The Group EBITDA 2013 is expected to range between €870 million and €890 million, while the Group result is expected to decline. The outlook for Fraport's business segments is also forecast to remain unchanged.  The decline in MTOWs at FRA will possibly impact the Ground Handling segment and could lead to a negative result for this segment.

If further strike measures affect flight operations during the remainder of the year, then growth of the actual financial and traffic figures -

particularly at Frankfurt Airport - could deviate from the forecast.

The Fraport Group Interim Report (January 1 to March 3, 2013) is available for viewing and downloading via the following link:

http://www.fraport.com/content/fraport/en/investor-relations.html

For Further Information, Please Contact:

Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. - International Spokesman and Head of International Press/PR & External Activities Team, Press Office (UKM-PS), Corporate Communications, 60547 Frankfurt, Germany; Tel.: [phone]; E-mail: [e-mail]; Internet: http://www.fraport.com;  http://www.airportcarbonaccreditation.org

SOURCE Fraport AG

Copyright 2013 PR Newswire