News Releases/Ad hoc

FRA/rap-th> Fiscal 2006 was extremely successful for the Fraport Group, with revenues rising by 2.6 percent over the previous year to €2.14 billion.  EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) also increased by 6.6 percent to €578.4 million.  Profit for the year jumped 41.7 percent compared to the previous year to €228.9 million. Because of this gratifying profit increase Fraport's executive board is recommending a dividend payment of €1.15 per share for fiscal 2006, nearly 28 percent more than in the previous year.

At Frankfurt Airport (FRA) – the Group's home base – Fraport achieved a new record in passenger traffic for the  2006 business year. Welcoming more than 52.8 million passengers, FRA exceeded the already high 2005 level by 1.1 percent.  Airfreight tonnage at Frankfurt climbed by as much as 8.4 percent, exceeding two million metric tons for the first time.  Combined, the Fraport Group's airports recorded markedly stronger passenger growth  than FRA:  growing by 2.3 percent to a total of 73.8 million passengers.  Cargo throughput for the Group's airports climbed by as much as 9.3 percent, reaching a total of 2.6 million metric tons of airfreight and airmail.

Despite these new records, Frankfurt's long-standing capacity constraints increasingly affect FRA's traffic figures and thus results for the entire Group.  Speaking at the company's annual financial press conference, Fraport AG's executive board chairman Dr. Wilhelm Bender emphasized that Fraport's growth in profits clearly exceeded traffic growth.  "This proves the success of our determined strategy to bank on other profit sources – such as retailing, real estate utilization,  and external business – in addition to the classical airport business of traffic and terminal management and ground-handling services," said Bender. "Further reasons for our good performance last year include ongoing cost discipline and corporate-wide efficiency improvements," Bender explained.

In addition to increasing traffic volume, major factors contributing to the growth in sales included in particular higher revenues from security services – due to business expansions and new security regulations – as well as higher proceeds from retailing and parking.  Explaining  the most important reasons for the strongly over-proportionate increase in EBITDA and profit for the year,  Bender cited special one-time effects such as the reversal of accruals, the sale of investments and a revision of the German corporate income tax law. 

Bender announced that shareholders could expect nearly a 28-percent dividend rise to €1.15 per share, at a pay-out ratio of almost 46 percent.

Last year Frankfurt Airport again confirmed its role as a significant job generator in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region. An average of 17,500 people were employed by Fraport in Frankfurt, 1,100 more than in 2005.  At year end, the airport operator employed as many as 18,400 people at Frankfurt.  Together, the Fraport Group's companies, including those not based at Frankfurt, employed nearly 28,300 people in 2006 – nearly ten  percent more than in 2005. "These impressive increases are evidence of the strong forces driving employment in the air transport industry," stressed Bender. Thanks to the planned Airport Expansion Program, Frankfurt Airport's contribution to employment in the region will further increase strongly well into the next decade.

At the end of last year, Frankfurt Airport moved another significant step closer to implementing its planned  capacity expansion: In November Fraport concluded a Letter of Intent with Ticona providing for the closure of the chemical plant at Kelsterbach (near the planned new runway) and the removal of all aeronautical obstacles at the site by 2011.  The entire site is expected to be transferred to Fraport AG no later than 2015. "With the completion of the final contracts, we will have considerably improved the calculability of the timing for our expansion plans,"  Bender said.

Because of existing capacity constraints, Fraport expects only a moderate increase of about one percent in FRA's passenger figures for 2007.  Based on the current traffic development, i.e., growth of 3 percent in January and 3.8 percent in February, Bender "is meanwhile more optimistic for the current year." However, Bender anticipates airfreight tonnage to rise at stronger rates again.

Group revenue is expected to rise more strongly than in 2006.  Again, retailing and external business are expected to have stimulating effects on revenue – especially because of the acquisition of a majority share in Lima Airport and the takeover of operations at the Bulgarian airports of Burgas and Varna.  On an adjusted basis, after the deduction of special effects in 2006, Fraport expects a slight improvement in earnings from operations (EBITDA) for the current year.

All figures stated for the 2006 fiscal year are preliminary until March 26, the day when Fraport AG's supervisory board will approve of the 2006 Statement of Accounts. Effective March 28, Fraport's Annual Report 2006 will be available online via the Internet.   Fraport AG's Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on May 30 at the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt-Höchst.

– ENDS –

For More Information, Please Contact:
Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. – Manager International Press
Press Office (Dept. UKM-PS), Corporate Communications (UKM)
60547 Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany
Tel.: +49 69.690.78547; Fax: +49.69.690.60548;
E-mail:  r.payne@fraport.de