Corporate | 17 November 2005 08:30

Flughafen Wien AG: Results for 3rd Quarter 2005

Corporate-news transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Solid traffic development supports turnover growth for the first three quarters. Turnover recorded by the Flughafen Wien Group rose1.8% to EUR 304.9 million for the first nine months of 2005, supported by the favourable development of traffic. Income before interest and taxes (EBIT) declined 5.5% to EUR 82.1 million. Financial results improved EUR 6.3 million to EUR 7.9 million. These factors combined with a decrease in taxes led to a 10.8% rise in net profit for the period to EUR 66.8 million. “The upward trend in traffic again served as the driver for our growth during the first three quarters”, commented Herbert Kaufmann, Member and Speaker of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG, on the development of the company. Consolidated Income Statement for the First Three Quarters T EUR 1-9/2005 1-9/2004 Change in % Turnover 304,909.6 299,464.9 1.8% Other operating income 17,291.5 12,580.0 37.5% Operating income 322,201.1 312,044.9 3.3% Cost of materials and services -24,111.5 -19,204.6 25.6% Personnel expenses -134,128.1 -123,396.8 8.7% Depreciation and amortisation -40,357.4 -35,522.4 13.6% Other operating expenses -41,518.5 -47,058.3 -11.8% Income before interest and taxes (EBIT) 82,085.7 86,862.8 -5.5% Income from investments, excl. associates at equity 30.5 500.5 -93.9% Net financing costs 1,248.1 5,786.4 -78.4% Other income from financing activities 5,793.5 -4,917.9 -217.8% Financial results, excl. associates at equity 7,072.1 1,369.0 416.6% Income from associates at equity 875.8 234.1 274.1% Financial results 7,947.9 1,603.1 395.8% Profit before tax (EBT) 90,033.6 88,465.9 1.8% Taxes on income -23,260.3 -28,214.2 -17.6% Net profit for the period 66,773.3 60,251.7 10.8% Thereof minority interests 358.9 142.5 151.8% Thereof parent company 66,414.3 60,109.2 10.5% Earnings per share (in EUR) 3.16 2.86 10.5% The First Nine Months of 2005 Turnover recorded by the Flughafen Wien Group rose by 1.8% to EUR 304.9 million during the first nine months of 2005. Income before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the first nine months of the 2005 Business Year fell 5.5% to EUR 82.1 million. Operating income rose by 3.3% to EUR 322.2 million, which resulted in an EBIT margin of 25.5% – or 2.4 percentage points less than in the comparable period of 2004. The EBITDA margin declined 1.2 percentage points to 38.0%. Financial results improved by EUR 6.3 million to EUR 7.9 million. The high level of capital expenditure reduced the volume of funds available for investment, which led to a decline of EUR 4.5 million in net interest income to EUR 1.2 million. The EUR 10.7 million rise in other income from financing activities is related primarily to the reversal of the revaluation reserve in 2004 after the sale of funds and to the write-up of a loan granted during the third quarter of 2005. Profit before tax (EBT) rose by 1.8% to EUR 90.0 million. A reduction in the Austrian corporate tax rate from 34 to 25% as of 1 January 2005 supported a 17.6% decrease in taxes on income to EUR 23.3 million, in spite of an increase in profit before tax and subsequent tax payments resulting from an audit. Profit for the period rose by 10.8% to EUR 66.8 million, whereby EUR 0.4 million of this amount is assigned to minority interests and EUR 66.4 million to the parent company. Corporate Spending The largest investments made during the first nine months of 2005 include the construction of the Air Cargo Center (EUR 34.5 mill.) and Handling Center West (EUR 19.2 mill.) with a related collector system (EUR 3.0 mill.), the air traffic control tower (EUR 9.5 mill.), VIP and General Aviation Center (EUR 13.0 mill.), expansion of the existing baggage handling facility (EUR 4.9 mill.) and north-east apron (EUR 10.9 mill.). Other projects include services for the Skylink project (EUR 12.9 mill.), an addition to Car Park 3 (EUR 6.8 mill.), construction of Car Parks 6 (east) and 8 (west) (EUR 11.5 mill.) and the construction of a temporary check-in hall (EUR 5.1 mill.). Outlook The positive development of traffic continued into October 2005. The number of passengers increased 6.1%, flight movements rose by 1.3% and maximum take-off weight showed a plus of 3.4%. A number of airlines – including China Airlines, Maersk Air, Eurocypria Airlines and Cirrus Airlines – added Vienna to their flight schedules during the first three quarters of 2005. Moreover, the number of destinations increased from 152 in the previous year to 173 at the end of September 2005. In addition to the operating challenges posed by the growth in traffic and current infrastructure limitations and the need to create temporary capacity, the many construction projects at the airport form the focal point of investments to safeguard the future success of the Flughafen Wien Group. For example, design work for the realisation of the second phase of the Office Park has been largely concluded, and construction of the north-east infrastructure building, Air Cargo Center, north-east equipment storage facility, VIP and General Aviation Center and Car Park 8 is well underway. The single most important project over the long-term is the construction of the new VIE-Skylink Terminal – after several years of planning, the lead construction company has been selected and further tenders are currently in progress. Participation in the tender for privatisation of the two Slovakian airports, Bratislava und Kosice, as part of the “Airport TwoOne” consortium (Flughafen Wien AG, Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG and Penta Investment Limited) is of particular strategic importance. We are convinced that the planned close cooperation will provide an optimal basis for all parties to develop the enormous growth potential inherent in the Vienna-Lower Austria-Bratislava region. We expect a decision on this project towards the end of 2005. End of announcement (c)DGAP 17.11.2005 —————————————————————————— WKN: 091180; ISIN: AT0000911805; Index: ATX Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Wien; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart; London