Fraport AG Reports Strong Traffic and Financial Results

FRANKFURT, Germany, March 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Annual Results for 2010 Announced/ Capacity Expansion and Service Enhancement Key Topics for 2011

The traffic and financial results for 2010, which Fraport AG - the owner and manager of Frankfurt Airport - announced on Friday, clearly reflect the recent growth momentum. At Frankfurt Airport (FRA), both passenger figures and cargo volume have increased significantly. With 2.23 million metric tons, Frankfurt Airport handled more cargo than ever before. This corresponds to an increase of 21.5 percent.

Passenger figures, too, showed a noticeable increase of 4.1 percent despite the volcanic ash cloud, airline industrial action and two major disruptions caused by unexpectedly severe winter weather at the beginning and the end of the year. Frankfurt Airport welcomed a total of more than 53 million passengers. Fraport's five majority-owned airports (including FRA) handled a total of 88.6 million passengers, a year-on-year increase of 8.9 percent.

"The financial result for 2010 has been the best in the company's history," underlined Fraport AG's executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte on Friday at the company's annual press conference for the fiscal year 2010. "The operating result (EBITDA - earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) noticeably jumped to about EUR711 million, surpassing even the 2008 record of around EUR601 million. Fraport AG's Group profit reached approximately EUR272 million, outpacing the 2007 record figure of around EUR228 million by almost 19 percent," stressed Dr. Schulte.

The positive development results - as Dr. Schulte explained -from last year's surprisingly strong recovery of the global economy and from the excellent performance of the Group's investment airports around the world. "We withstood the financial and economic crisis of the past few years, we have done our homework and - thanks to our capacity expansion projects - we are now fully on track," said Dr. Schulte underlining Fraport AG's strong 2010 performance. The new Runway Northwest, for example, will be completed within budget and on time for the winter timetable 2011/12.

The expanded capacity resulting from the new runway will allow for a gradual increase in aircraft movements. Eight additional aircraft movements per hour are scheduled for the winter timetable 2011/12. The corresponding slots will be allocated by the German Airport Coordinator according to international rules

and regulations. The Pier A-Plus terminal extension project, which is scheduled to be completed by July 2012, will increase Terminal 1's capacity by six million passengers per year. The new Pier A-Plus will also increase FRA's retail space by a third, adding some 12,000 square meters airside for new shops and restaurants.

"Operational growth at Frankfurt Airport also has a positive effect on the number of employees," Dr. Schulte further explained. The company is currently recruiting 2,000 new employees for operative positions, such as for ground handling services or at the security checks, as well as business managers, engineers, planners and technical experts to be employed in the airport's future infrastructure development projects.

The volume of orders placed by Fraport AG in 2010 reached more than EUR940 million. Thus, Fraport AG once again contributed significantly to secure jobs and to fill the order books of companies located mainly in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region. The volume of orders placed with local companies amounted to more than EUR605 million and accounted for 64 percent of all orders. Considering the fact that 90 percent of these orders had a value of less than EUR10,000, it becomes obvious - as Dr. Schulte pointed out - that small and medium-sized enterprises in particular benefited from this development at FRA.

Dr. Schulte made special mention of Fraport AG's external business, which today accounts for 20 percent of the Group's revenue and for about 34 percent of its EBITDA. "Our investment airports in Lima and Antalya have been showing double-digit growth rates for several years now. Lima is our showcase for South America, where we will also make a bid if, for example, airports in Brazil become privatized," said Dr. Schulte. With 8.4 million passengers handled in 2010, St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport - which Fraport AG has been managing since last year - also registered year-on-year passenger growth of more than 24 percent.

Also the "Great to Have You Here" program, which was launched at Frankfurt Airport last year to enhance passenger service, is progressing well. Since the middle of last year, the number of security checkpoints has been raised by 25 percent. The measure has proved successful, as the average waiting time at FRA's security checkpoints has been reduced to less than 10 minutes. To enhance the passengers' travel experience at FRA, additional and more comfortable resting and waiting areas have been created. Passenger information has also been improved by installing more user-friendly information kiosks and by deploying additional service assistants.

Key measures to be implemented this year include: free E-shuttle carts to shorten the travelling distances between the gates, shuttle services between Concourses A and C for transfer passengers with a time-critical connecting flight, newly designed and fully illuminated signage, the redevelopment of Terminal 1's forecourt as well as more playgrounds for children. The airport's de-icing capacity will also be increased and Winter Services will be equipped with two additional fleets of snow removal vehicles.

"2011 will be a pivotal year for the development of Frankfurt Airport," explained Dr. Schulte. "On the one hand, we are celebrating the airport's 75th anniversary. Flight operations at the current Frankfurt airport location date back to 1936. On the other hand, FRA's capacity expansion will mark a new chapter in the growth of the airport. Thus, the year 2011 will be a vital link between the past and the future."

For 2011, Schulte expects passenger traffic at FRA to grow by four to seven percent. Revenue is expected to increase to more than EUR2.3 billion, while EBITDA could rise by 10 to 15 percent. Because of the Group's good performance in 2010, Fraport AG's executive and supervisory boards will recommend to the annual general meeting (AGM) on June 1, 2011, that the dividend be raised by EUR0.10 to EUR1.25 per share.

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Print-quality photos of Frankfurt Airport and Fraport AG are available free for downloading via the Internet at http://www.fraport.com (Menu: select Press Center > then Photo Service). For TV news and information broadcasting purposes only, we also offer free footage material for downloading via http://fraport.cms-gomex.com.

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    For Further Information, Please Contact:
    Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
    Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. - Senior Mgr. International Press & PR
    International Spokesman, Press Office (Dept. UKM-PS),
    Corporate Communications, 60547 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
    Tel.: +49-69-690-78547; E-mail: r.payne@fraport.de;
    mailto:r.payne@fraport.de; 

Internet: http://www.fraport.com