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Fraport Group – First Half 2018: Positive business performance achieved despite numerous challenges

Frankfurt Airport.

Revenue and EBITDA increase significantly; Group result on the rise. Frankfurt Airport and Fraport Group airports record strong passenger growth.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY – The Fraport Group closed the first six months of the 2018 business year (ending June 30) with a significant 13.0 percent rise in Group revenue to 1.532 billion euros. At the Group's Frankfurt Airport (FRA) home base, the increase was driven, in particular, by traffic growth – resulting in higher proceeds from airport charges and security services, a rise in charges from ground services and infrastructure, as well as higher parking revenue. Fraport's international business also contributed to revenue growth, with major contributions coming from Fraport Greece (plus 83.5 million euros) and Fraport Brasil (plus 76.4 million euros). In the first half of 2017, the two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) were not yet operated by Fraport Brasil and thus not incorporated into the Group.

The operational result or EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) also increased significantly by 9.8 percent year-on-year to 461.3 million euros, but was dampened, among other things, by traffic-related higher personnel expenses for ground handling and security services at FRA. Higher interest expenses for Fraport Greece and the two Fortaleza and Porto Alegre subsidiaries had a negative influence on the Group's financial result – slipping from minus 50.4 million euros in the first half of 2017 to minus 77.4 million euros in the reporting period. This led to a Group result (net profit) of 140.8 million euros, up 2.8 percent.

Due to higher investments at FRA and Fraport's international Group airports, free cash flow decreased by 221.3 million euros to minus 23.2 million euros in the first six months of 2018.

Frankfurt Airport served 32.7 million passengers in the first half of 2018 – an increase of 9.1 percent. With about 1.1 million metric tons, cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) remained almost stable year-on-year. Across the Group, all airports in Fraport's international portfolio posted strong passenger growth.

Summarizing the first half of the 2018 business year, Fraport AG's executive board chairman, Dr. Stefan Schulte, said: "The ongoing growth underscores Frankfurt Airport's attractiveness as a global aviation hub, but also poses great challenges to all of us. It was only thanks to the excellent cooperation with our partners, government agencies and our airline customers and the outstanding commitment of all airport employees that we were able to accommodate the considerable growth experienced in the first half of this year. Overall, we have delivered a positive business performance despite numerous challenges."

In view of FRA's strong traffic growth in the first six months of the year, Fraport AG's executive board now expects passenger numbers to reach slightly over 69 million for the full 2018 business year. Excluding the effects from Fraport's expected divestiture of Hanover Airport (HAJ), the executive board is maintaining its outlook for the Group's key financial figures and expects them to reach the upper levels of the margins forecast in the Annual Report at the beginning of the year (Group EBITDA: between approximately 1,080 million euros and 1,110 million euros; Group EBIT: between about 690 million euros and 720 million euros; Group EBT: between some 560 million euros and 590 million euros; Group Result: between approximately 400 million euros and 430 million euros).

Following the expected sale of Fraport's stake in Hanover Airport, the executive board expects the divestiture to contribute some 25 million euros to Group EBITDA and about €85 million to Group EBT. After deduction of related income tax liabilities, the Hanover transaction will also have a positive impact of about 77 million euros on the Group result (net profit). Taking into account these special effects, Fraport's executive board expects the Group's EBITDA, EBIT, EBT and Group Result to exceed the above-mentioned margins for the full 2018 business year.

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Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.

She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.

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