Moderate Increase in Results at VIA

In the first quarter of 2012 the Flughafen Wien Group recorded a strong improvement in all relevant indicators. Revenue rose by 5.7% to € 139.0m and EBITDA by a sound 12.6% to € 49.8m. EBIT increased by 8.5% to € 30.4m and net profit for the period by 9.1% to € 21.6m. Earnings per share for the first quarter equalled € 1.03, compared with € 0.94 in the first quarter of 2011.

The first quarter improvements involved absolute figures as well as profitability indicators. The EBITDA margin rose from 33.6% in the previous year to 35.8% and the EBIT margin from 21.3% to 21.9% (also see the attached table).

“The sound development of traffic and results in the first quarter of 2012 confirms not only our set course, but also our three strategic focal points: to improve productivity, drive growth and reduce costs“, commented Günther Ofner, member of the Management Board (CFO) of Flughafen Wien AG, on this solid performance. “The effects of our previously implemented measures are now visible. We successfully reduced other administrative operating expenses and cut personnel costs. Our guidance on results for 2012 appears to be very well protected from the current point of view“, added the Airport CFO: “Based on our latest assumptions for the full 2012 financial year, revenue will exceed € 600m and EBITDA will top € 200m. We have also raised the forecast for net profit from at least € 50m to € 55m.“

The sound financial indicators resulted, above all, from positive development in the core business: “Traffic remained strong throughout the first quarter with an increase of 9.2% in the number of passengers. Based on this growth, we are raising our traffic forecast for 2012. We now expect an increase of 4 % to 5% in the number of passengers, whereby the successful start of operations in the Skylink represents an important factor in reaching this target. We expect a significant improvement in quality for our passengers“, explained Julian Jäger, member of the Management Board (COO) of Flughafen Wien AG, commenting with optimism on projected results for the full 2012 financial year. Conversely, Jäger does not see any growth in flight movements (0 to -1%) or maximum take-off weight (MTOW) (-2 % to -3%) in 2012.

Vienna Airport handled 4,485,787 passengers in the first quarter of 2012, or 9.2% more than the previous year. The number of transfer passengers rose by 22.4%. Traffic to Eastern Europe increased 24.1% during the period from January to March 2012. The number of passengers travelling to the Middle East and Far East rose by 7.9% and 5.1%, respectively. The percentage rise in traffic to North America and Africa was even higher at 37.3% and 14.2%. This growth trend continued during April 2012 with a 9.5% increase in the number of passengers.

The Austrian Airlines Group, Vienna’s most important customer, handled 13.8% more passengers at Vienna Airport during the first quarter of 2012. This raised the carrier’s share of total passenger traffic from 47.4% in the first quarter of 2011 to 49.4%. The so-called low-cost carriers recorded a 3.2% decline in number of passengers, which reduced their share of total passenger traffic from 23.4% in the comparable prior year period to 20.7%. In contrast to the development of passenger volume, flight movements decreased 2.0% to 56,238. Seat occupancy improved from 60.9% in the first quarter of 2011 to 65.3%. These factors and a lower number of cargo flights were responsible for a 2.8% decline in maximum take-off weight (MTOW) to 1,861,752 tonnes. Cargo volume (air cargo and trucking) fell 9.1% to 65,173 tonnes.

Revenue in the Airport Segment rose by € 3.7m or 5.9% over the first quarter of 2011 to € 66.2m for the reporting period. This growth was supported, above all, by the sound development of traffic with a strong increase in the number of passengers. The Handling Segment recorded an increase of 1.4% in revenue to € 40.3m. The Retail & Properties Segment generated the highest revenue growth with a plus of 12.6% to € 28.8m. This increase was supported by higher rental income as well as the positive development of revenue from shopping, gastronomy and parking. Revenue recorded by the Other Segments amounted to € 3.6m and remained relatively constant in comparison with the previous year.