Flughafen Wien AG

Earnings Release • Jan 17, 2005

News Details

Corporate | 17 January 2005 10:30

Flughafen Wien AG:Traffic Results 2004

Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Vienna International Airport also recorded above-average growth for 2004, with the number of passengers rising 15.7%. Low-cost carriers, travel to Eastern Europe and long-haul traffic served as the motors for this excellent growth. Flight movements rose 14.1%, maximum take-off weight (MTOW) increased 18.6% and cargo reported a plus of 21.0%. The peak traffic day was 5 September, when 58,981 passengers were handled. These traffic results not only exceeded corporate forecasts, but also significantly outpaced other European airports. This information was presented by the members of the Management Board of the publicly traded Flughafen Wien AG, Herbert Kaufmann, Gerhard Schmid and Christian Domany, at a press conference on 17 January in Vienna. Vienna International Airport handled a total of 14,785,529 passengers on 224,809 flight movements in 2004, thereby exceeding the 14 million mark for the first time. Major support for this growth was provided by the low-cost carriers, which handled 1,646,071 passengers for an increase of 117%. These airlines carried 11.1% of all passengers at Vienna International Airport during the past year. The top ranking low-cost carrier was Air Berlin with 764,227 passengers and a 5.2% share of total volume. Air Berlin ranks third after the Austrian Group and Lufthansa. Traffic to Eastern Europe also showed solid development with a plus of 20.7%. Vienna International Airport was able to further expand its leading role as an East-West hub in European air traffic with 41 destinations in Eastern Europe. “The incentives introduced by Flughafen Wien AG to promote the hub concept and long-haul traffic were also well received by airlines in 2004,” emphasized Herbert Kaufmann at the press conference. This led to the introduction of new long-haul routes to Singapore and Shanghai as well as frequency increases to Eastern Europe. Long-haul traffic – primarily to the Far East – also rose by a substantial 26%. For example, the number of passengers travelling to Peking more than doubled with a plus of 115.1%. Strong growth was also recorded to Kuala Lumpur with +57.8%, Delhi +30.4%, Tokyo +14.2% and New York +15.2%. Traffic to the Near and Middle East increased by an impressive 62.5% due to pent-up demand for travel to this region after the war in Iraq as well as the start of daily flights to Dubai by Emirates. Top destinations in 2004 were Frankfurt, Moscow, Bangkok and Washington. Scheduled traffic carried 90.5% of all passengers at Vienna International Airport in 2004, whereby a shift was noted in the most popular destinations. Frankfurt passed London and, with 351,518 passengers (+3.3%) ranked first ahead of London (-22.2%), Zurich (+29.0%) and Paris (-0.3%). The ranking in Eastern Europe showed Moscow (+9.5%) first, followed by Warsaw (+26.0%), Sofia (+27.7%), Prague (+28.1%) und Bucharest (+18.9%). The leader on long-haul routes was Bangkok wit 89,862 passengers (+9%) ahead of Washington (+10.6%), New York (+15.2%) and Tokyo (+14.2%). Good development was also recorded in travel to Peking (+115.1%), Kuala Lumpur (+57.8%), Delhi (+30.4%) and Melbourne (+28.7%). Cargo Recovery in the global economy also had a positive influence on the cargo segment at Vienna International Airport: 209,625 tonnes were handled for a plus of 21.0%. The volume of air cargo reached 145,602 tonnes for an increase of 25.9% and trucking totalled 64,023 tonnes for growth of 11.1%. Outlook Flughafen Wien AG expects further recovery in the aviation industry as well as growth of 8.0% in the number of passengers and 5% each for flight movements and maximum take-off weight during 2005. The tariff reduction introduced on 1 October 2004 and the implementation of incentives for all airlines will further increase the attractiveness and competitive ability of Vienna International Airport. The airport expansion programme will continue, with EUR 245 million of investments scheduled for 2005. Capital expenditure of EUR 854 million is planned for the years 2004-2008. Major projects include completion of the air traffic control tower (mid-2005), expansion of the Cargo Center, construction of the General Aviation Center and VIP facilities as well as the addition of another storey to Car Park 3. The old tower, office building, VIP & Business Center and eastern equipment depot will be demolished to make room for the new SkyLink Terminal. In order to prevent capacity blockages at peak times, 30 new check-in counters will be installed in the terminal over the coming weeks. In addition, the expansion of the baggage sorting equipment will be completed by the end of March 2005. FACTS & FIGURES 2004 Change vs. 2003 PASSENGERS (Total) 14,785,529 ; 15.7% Thereof Transfer passengers 5,089,624 18.0% FLIGHT MOVEMENTS 224,809 14.1% MTOW 6,240,323 18.6% Air Cargo 145,602 25.9% Trucking 64,023 11.1% AIR CARGO AND TRUCKING 209,625 21.0% Passengers* (scheduled) Change vs. 2003 EUROPE 5,628,659 15.1% Eastern Europe 1,086,858 20.7% Western Europe 4,541,801 13.9% FAR EAST 527,195 26.0% NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST 213,291 62.5% NORTH AMERICA 223,398 14.0% AFRICA 90,968 30.8% SOUTH AMERICA – -100.0% KEY DESTINATIONS Passengers* (scheduled) Change vs. 2003 Eastern Europe Nr.1 Moscow 96,641 9.5% Western Europe Nr.1 Frankfurt 351,518 3.3% Far East Nr.1 Bangkok 89,862 9.0% Long-haul Nr.1 Bangkok 89,862 9.0% Charter Nr.1 Antalya 118,165 10.9% * Departing passengers end of message, (c)DGAP 17.01.2005 —————————————————————————— WKN: 091180; ISIN: AT0000911805; Index: ATX Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Wien; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart; London 171030 Jän 05