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Flughafen Wien Profit Drops 10 Percent
March 23, 2006 Vienna Airport operator Flughafen Wien on Thursday reported 2005 operating profit fell 10 percent due to low revenue growth and investment in its handling capacity.
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell to EUR92.3 million (USD$111.2 million), with revenues up 3 percent at EUR410.3 million (USD$494.5 million).
The drop in operating earnings came as the operator was not able to keep revenue growth in line with volume growth in both airport services and handling of cargo, baggage and catering, Flughafen said in a statement, indicating pricing pressure.
At the same time, depreciation rose by 17 percent after the company invested in a new handling area to cope with higher volume mainly from low-cost carriers including Air Berlin and Germanwings.
Net profit rose 3.6 percent to EUR74.3 million (USD$89.6 million) largely because of the write-up of a loan Flughafen had written off previously.
The operator, which leads a group that has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Slovakia's main airports Bratislava and Kosice last month, is banking on those airports to boost growth in passenger traffic.
The purchase is subject to approval by Austria's and Slovakia's competition authorities which Flughafen said it expected in the third quarter.
Flughafen reiterated it expected passenger traffic at Vienna Airport, a regional hub for flights to central and eastern Europe for Austrian Airlines and others, to rise by 6 percent this year.
Reuters