Above all, the strong international business has pulled the airport operator Fraport out of the Corona crisis. Despite record profits, however, shareholders will have to wait even longer for a dividend.
Frankfurt airport operator Fraport is on schedule with its international expansion projects. The third passenger terminal in Frankfurt is scheduled to open after the Easter travel wave in 2026, said CEO Stefan Schulte at the MDax group’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.
The four billion euro investment will increase the gross capacity of Germany’s largest airport by around 19 million passengers, although Terminal 2 will then be taken out of service for renovation. This year, a solar park will also be built along Frankfurt’s West runway, for which around 37,000 photovoltaic modules will be installed.
Global expansion plans in full swing
The new terminal at Lima Airport is scheduled to open this year, more than doubling capacity in the Peruvian capital with two runways to 40 million passengers. At the associated airport in Antalya, Fraport and its partner TAV aim to complete construction work before the peak travel season in 2025 in order to be able to handle 65 million passengers annually.
The airport in Porto Alegre, Brazil, which is operated by Fraport and has been affected by the historic floods in the South American country, will remain closed until further notice. There were no fatalities among the employees, but many lost “houses and property,” said Schulte. Fraport has provided relief supplies and financial aid. The extent of the flood damage has not yet been determined. Fraport is insured and is in talks with the government. Civil air traffic will soon be organized at a military airport.
In terms of business, Fraport sees itself on track for record sales and profits. Schulte confirmed the forecast of 61 to 65 million passengers at the home hub and strong international growth. It is very likely that the current year will exceed the profit from the pre-Corona year of 2019, which was 454 million euros. In the forecast, management is confident of up to 530 million euros. For shareholders, however, this does not automatically mean a dividend. Due to the high debt ratio, no distribution will be proposed in 2024 either, Schulte announced. That will change with the opening of Terminal 3 at the latest.
Source: Stern
