Flughafen Wien Aktiengesellschaft (FLU) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Interest in our Q1 2025 results. As with me, as always, Mr. Gunther Ofner and Mr. Julian Jager, and I hand the slide over to CFO, Mr. Ofner.

Yes. Good afternoon. We today published our results for the first quarter of 2025. And we saw a revenue increase of EUR 7.4 million and a net profit increase in the same amount, EUR 7.3 million. EBITDA was slightly weaker at 2.2%. In total, we had a better financial result and a slightly weaker operative result. In total, it ended up in line with the revenue increase. What we have to have in mind is that in '24, we had 29th February, so one additional day. And also Easter period was within the first quarter and this year, it's in April. And this has a certain effect on our business outcome. We saw substantial passenger growth in the group, especially Malta and Kosice. It was as expected in Vienna. What we have to stress is that as you see comparing the figures that already roughly 10 million out of 42 million passengers of the group are passengers in Malta and in Kosice. So the relative weight is growing towards Vienna Airport. Financial guidance for '25. I think we have now a little bit more visibility. And from today's perspective, I would say that our expectations of EUR 1.08 million (sic) [ EUR 1.08 billion ] revenue and EUR 440 million EBITDA and group net profit of roughly EUR 230 million are very well based. And given that we don't see major disturbances from international problems, I would say we can be very optimistic that we reach at least these figures for 2025, except any kind of extraordinary events. If we look at the travel agencies and their press activities, all of them are stressing a good booking situation for the summer months. And this will also be reflected in regard of flight traveling. Our CapEx will stay around or slightly above EUR 300 million in 2025. So all our projects are well on the way and within budget and as planned. So especially the South expansion is progressing positively and as planned. So no negative expectations or surprises from that side. If we move to our earnings in detail, you see increases in revenue, in EBITDA, in EBIT and especially in the financial results. And we saw an increase in -- resulting from additional passenger volume and also the fee adjustment that was done in accordance with the regulation. But also our non-aviation business is developing positively, lounges, restaurants, parking, advertising, but also real estate. And as outlined, financial results were even above expectations. So if we move on, on the expenses side, there we see the issues that are now coming along and that needs more attention maybe for the coming periods. It's especially the increase in personnel expenses because as the subsidiary is not fully consolidated, personnel expenses went up by roughly 12% in total and other operating expenses by 16.2%, whereas depreciation and amortization is slightly down. So cost management will be a challenge for the coming periods, and we will have a little bit more stress on that side than recently because overall, we can expect growth for the coming months and years, but it will not be as strong as we saw it, for example, in '23 and '24. And we will then have to cope with the situation, especially the fact that in 2026, the regime for our tariffs will be, again, the formula. So the time span where we increased our tariffs by inflation will end in 2026, and we will be back at the formula. If we look at the cash flow and our balance sheet structure, you see a positive development there. Cash flow from operating activities went up from EUR 68 million to EUR 95 million. Free cash flow also improved. CapEx roughly doubled as planned. Net liquidity is at EUR 562 million, but we have to have in mind that after our general assembly, a dividend payout of EUR 138 million will have to be borne. And so the net liquidity will be melting down corresponding to that. Our equity is increasing slightly from EUR 1,667 million to EUR 1.708 billion and the equity ratio is more or less stable compared with last year. Our airport city development is booming. We saw new companies in the aerospace sector who are coming to our airport, our space and gate space. And they are supplementing and are clustering together with is expanding its business by another 100 employees in the coming 12 to 18 months. TUI Austria was relocating the corporate headquarter to the airport city. And on the 2nd of June, there will be the opening ceremony for the big logistics park. And on the same day, the Vienna House will be ready to the roof and it will open most likely later the year. So maybe in November, they will host their first guests in the new hotel. The next step in the development will be the expansion of Office Park 4, 17,000 square meters will be added. And the construction will begin in the course of 2026. We are also starting planning for a new car park and a new car garage, car park 6 and also the development of our is ongoing where we are looking for logistics and industrial properties. And project could start once we get the permission. And last but not least, we are very, very optimistic that once we get the permission, the 47 hectares will be absorbed very, very quickly because I think we have interested parties for more or less 3x of the amount of land available. So summing up, we can confirm our financial guidance for 2025. And I think it's now very good secured by the results we saw for the first quarter. And let's hope that the crisis that have been so negatively waiting on the air travel sector will end soon, especially the Ukraine, but also Middle East. And if they would end sooner or later, this could give an additional positive impulse for our growth perspectives. So that's from my side, and I hand over to Julian.

Thank you, Gunther. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I will continue with the traffic development. As Gunther already mentioned, the major driver in the first quarter was Malta with growth of 15.8% in April, 14% in Q1 and 14.6% in between January and April. Vienna saw a significant uplift in April. So the first quarter was just 1.8% growth. April was 7.6% despite -- to a certain extent, obviously, due to the fact that Easter this year was in April. And overall, until the end of April, it was 3.6%. We saw a positive development in the first half of May, although whenever you get the May figures, then later on in June, you have to consider that we have 2 to 3 percentage points of the passenger growth is based on the fact that Air India is currently diverting 10 to 15 aircraft every day to Vienna to tank and to take up fuel and then they continue their journey towards Western Europe. So those are transit passengers. They are not paying. So we make some money from the landing charges, but the figures in May will be a bit distorted because of that factor. Kosice is doing very well as well in the first 4 months, nearly 22% growth. Looking a bit into more detail in -- at the Vienna figures. Cargo does well, so plus 9% in the first 4 months of this year. Movements are plus 4.6% and passengers plus 3.6%. So overall, I think the major problem we had in the first quarter of this year was the drop in load factor, mainly driven by Austrian Airlines. I think there was a strategic focus on high heat and this caused some passengers. But overall, the development is good, I would say, summer, what I hear from the airlines looks good for everybody despite the -- a bit of difficult geopolitical situation, all the discussions about tariffs. So still the North American market is probably a bit weaker than it was expected earlier this year, but there are no major distortions. So overall, I think the situation is good. And we saw very significant growth towards Far East. So in the first 4 months of this year, plus 33%, Middle East, plus 12%; North America, plus 6%; Africa, plus 8%. So overall, I think we can be quite happy. This is -- these are the Q1 figures. Obviously, the figures I just mentioned probably even a bit better because of April. So overall, given the geopolitical situation in the world with the ongoing war in Ukraine, Middle East, now the tensions between India and Pakistan, I think we can be quite happy. And I think summer should be slightly above last year, so we should reach our targets here. As Gunther mentioned, obviously, Ukraine would be a big opportunity for Vienna. Austrian Airlines is the designated airline of the Lufthansa Group to start operations whenever it is possible to Ukraine. They had 5 destinations in Ukraine before the war. Wizz Air, Ryanair are all very eager to start to fly. So I think this would be quite some boost. And a couple of weeks ago, I visited Airport, and they -- it looks really good. They say they could have individual flights within 24 hours, and they could have fully revamped operations within 3 weeks. So whenever the situation allows, I think this could give our traffic some boost. And yes, as I said, cargo is good as well, plus 13% in April, plus 9.1% in the first 4 months. So overall, I think the situation looks quite good, and we are very happy that we have, after many, many years, a new Singapore flight by Scoot by the end -- by early June. I hope that China that they will see some developments here in the next 6 to 12 months. So overall, I think the situation is quite good. There are some markets like Japan, like India, where I think we could see more growth if the capacity issues would be solved and the airlines would get some of the aircraft that they have ordered. But overall, I think the picture is quite good. Let's continue with the market shares. I think there's no major change. I think one can see is that, obviously, in Q1, Austrian had a bit of a decrease, but I think this will be ironed out over the course of the year. Ryanair, solid growth. Wizz air, essentially on the same page as last year. If you know this year, Turkish, this is mainly because AnadoluJet, a subsidiary of Turkish took over some of the routes. So overall, I think we can be quite happy. And Lufthansa Group in Q1 had a market share of 46% and the low-cost carriers of 32%. Coming to the airline highlights, I think, yes, overall, we expect 73 airlines to fly to 190 destinations in 66 countries and no major surprises in this respect. We're happy that Condor came back and they have a base now in Vienna with 1 aircraft flying a few sand and sea destinations in the Mediterranean and 3 daily flights to Frankfurt. So overall, I think, yes, Saudia is important as well. They are coming back. They came back in April. EasyJet, we launched a new Milan Linate service. So overall, nothing out of the ordinary, I would say, but I think we can expect a solid summer operation here in Malta. And we are definitely prepared for that. Again, we got a couple of weeks ago, the Best Airport Staff Europe award from Skytrax. We are still among the most punctual airports in Europe. We had a significant improved punctuality in the first 4 months of this year. Last year, we were the most punctual airport above 30 million passengers, #3, if you calculate those airports above 25 million passengers. So overall, I think we can be quite happy. And with Southern extension of Terminal 3, which should be in operation in 2 years from now, I think yes, the overall quality will improve even further. Right now, we still expect slight growth here in Vienna. My best guess today would be something between 32 million and 33 million passengers. So a slight growth over 2024. And then obviously, the big question mark is 2026. We will have to reduce our airport charges. So this is obviously, as such, not a good thing. But on the other hand, this might increase the appetite for the one or other airline to grow a bit in Vienna. So overall, this year in the group, EUR 42 million roughly in Vienna, EUR 32 million, maybe a few hundred thousand more. And overall, quite happy with the development this year. A couple of words regarding the segment results. Airport, I think there we have a bit of a special situation. We had a reduction in the passenger-related fees. This is due to the fact that we introduced, and I think I told you that in our last call as well, we introduced a winter incentive for the 3 big airlines in Vienna, EUR 3 extra bird departing local passenger. So this applies only in the first 3 months of the year and in the last 2 months in November and December, which means that overall, we expect this year roughly a net increase on airport charges by 3%. And essentially, we expect next year to reduce airport charges by the same amount. So that's my best guess. Gross, we increased the fees by 4.6%. But due to the additional incentive, it's the net effect is 3%. And next year, we intend to reduce the charges probably gross by 4.6% and net again by roughly 3%. Yes, apart from that, there are no special events in airports. So I would expect a much stronger second and third quarter. And you will see some EBIT growth compared to last year after the second and third quarter, where we will see the full positive effect of the airport charges increase plus the growth we expect in this month. Handling & Security had a good quarter and positive EBIT in a difficult quarter, let's say, very considerable rise in handling revenue, higher de-icing fees, higher traffic, so plus 5% in flight movements. We are very happy that we got the Korean Air Cargo contract extended for another 4 years. This was very important for us. Obviously, the cargo was growing as well. So overall, I think we can be quite happy with this result in Q1 and positive news from retail and properties as well. Here, in particular, I mean, what you see on this slide, center management and hospitality plus 8% revenue, rentals plus 6% and parking plus 7%, especially VIP and lounges were important drivers. Lounges plus 18%, VIP plus 5%, advertising plus 9%, F&B plus 7%, shopping plus 4.3%. So overall, all the segments are doing well, but the lounges are doing, in particular, very well. What is important in this segment as well that the tenant acquisition has started for the Southern extension. And the good news is that we see a lot of interest in the F&B sector and the shopping sector. We have all the strong Austrian brands and a lot of international operators and some strong international brands as well. So our task for the next 6 months is to find the right partners and choose the right brands. But so far, everything is going according to plan, and we want to finalize the contracts until the end of this year so that we have then another 15 to 18 months to finalize the shops and the F&Bs. And yes, so far, things are looking quite good in this respect. In relation to that, we are changing the processes for the delivery of goods to the terminal and to all the terminals. We started construction right now for central logistics center. We have a partnership here with Bradford Airport Logistics. They are running, I think, 6 or 7 airports in -- they're running logistics centers like that in Heathrow and then 6 or 7 airports in the U.S. So we will centralize the supply of all goods for shops, lounges, F&Bs to the terminal and make sure that we will have all the goods which are on sale and are necessary in the terminal available on time and overall with a higher efficiency and lower cost for all operators. Last but definitely not least, Malta, very strong performance again, plus 16% EBIT, plus 14% EBITDA, plus 14% external revenue, strong growth from Ryanair, Wizz Air. Poland is growing a lot. So overall, Malta is really doing well. Airport segment, plus 17% revenue, retail plus 8%. So again, I think that excellent cooperation with government, with the MoTi Tourism authority pays off for the airport and leads to more tourists and on the other hand, to more business travelers as well. Malta -- overall, the economy Malta is doing very well, and the airport is one of the beneficiaries of this development. We will spend significant money in Malta in the coming years. We have to extend the terminal. We are growing our airport city there as well. But yes, Malta year by year by year, they are surprising us with the growth. So I would assume that over summer, we will see a bit more modest growth. But yes, let's see the situation is very strong.

Yes. Thanks a lot. That's it from our end, and we are happy to take your questions now.

Yes. Let's open the floor for questions. Please raise the virtual hand. Number one, Henry. Number two, Vladimira. I change course, ladies first. Vladimira said you have another call. Please go ahead.

I would be very short in my questions. First question would be related to your personnel costs. If you have maybe any visibility by how much your personnel costs will increase this year? And if you maybe have any insight how much would be then the negotiated salary increase? I know it should be effective from May. Next question would be related to revenue per passenger. What -- I think it must have improved in the first quarter. What was the main driver? And what do you expect at the end of the year what will be the full year number in a year-on-year comparison? And last but not least, any progress on the third runway? This would be it from my side.

Yes. Starting with personnel costs, tomorrow will be the first round of negotiations for the new collective agreement. And the basis is 12 months inflation of 2.82%. So that's the starting point for the negotiations, and it will be effective from 1st of May.

Maybe, but it estimated overall because I think this is compounded figure. It's not only salary increase, maybe planned staff number increase. So overall for the year '25, how much you think your personnel cost can go up?

Yes. This will be influenced by the number we agree in the bargaining process because we have several components that are working right now. The first one is that our last agreement was plus 7% and that's effective till the end of April. The second influencing factor is that we have roughly 5% more employees than we had 12 months ago. And the third factor that is included in the 5% is that also Malta compared to the very strong passenger growth slightly, but also increased their number of employees. And last but not least, we can add whatever we agree on what is negotiated starting from the 1st of May.

Regarding your second question, do you refer to the revenue per passenger from airport charges or center management and hospitality?

Center Management and hospitality. Yes.

Overall, we expect it to be around, I would say, EUR 350 compared to EUR 330 or something in last year.

For airport charges, the increase should be 3% net per passenger, growth.

And regarding your question regarding the third runway, we are right now evaluating the project, and there are no changes. We will take a decision in this respect in the next 6 to 12 months.

Thank you, Vladimira. Henry, please apologize for changing the order. Now it's your turn, please go ahead.

That's no problem. I have time today.

Yes. So let's wait for the answers.

Thanks a lot for your presentation. I have the first figure, let's dive back into the passenger fees. I've seen that the aircraft-related fees actually went up 16% and the passenger-related fees went down 2% despite the passenger growth in Vienna of roughly 1.8%. So what's the reason behind this change in mix? Both together are the airport charges in total, so they went up as well, but like what's driving the mix change here?

Let me answer it immediately.

Yes, sure.

This is what I mentioned just before. We introduced a new incentive just for the winter months. So it's applicable only in January to March and in November and December of 2025. And it means that our 3 biggest clients get EUR 3 per departing passenger, departing local passenger more. And that's why there's there was this -- that's why we saw a decrease in revenue from passenger-related charges, but this incentive will not be applicable in summer. So in summer, we will see the full effect of the 4.6% gross increase in airport charges. And over the full year, we expect net airport charges an increase of 3%. So whatever you believe the -- so if you take the 3% plus, whatever you think the absolute growth in airport passengers would be, that will be the net growth in terms of airport charges revenue.

So that also answered my question what will happen in summer. Perfect. And then maybe let's go back to -- I've seen that the seat load factor went down. You mentioned it also in the call earlier that it was due to a strategic shift at Austrian. Could you give me more help to understand in my understanding, if a seat load factor actually is higher, it's more profitable, thus higher yielding for airlines. So why are they going for higher yields and then decreasing load factor? What's the driving force behind that?

Look, I'm not an airline manager myself. So it's a bit difficult to comment on that. I don't know exactly. But obviously, there are always different strategies in different airlines, different airline groups. And in the first quarter, I think the strategic approach from Lufthansa Group was to go for higher yield and restrict capacity a bit. And we saw the effect with the reduction in load factor from Austrian Airlines. But I think this is something we will not do for summer, and I expect we will see high load factors in summer with all airlines.

Okay. Understood. Very helpful. And then regarding CapEx, I've seen in the cash flow statement, it's roughly EUR 46 million, which was substantially lower than I expected. Is this due to seasonality that in winter, construction is usually less pronounced and then summer goes up again and then winter goes okay. So we will see more CapEx in the Q2, Q3 and then maybe a little less in Q4. Okay. Perfect. And then my last question is also regarding other operating expenses, which came in also just a little bit higher than expected, but not meaningfully. But is this sort of a new level that will probably go through the rest of the year? Or was this -- has there been some one-off cost related expenses in there?

I would expect it's more or less what it will be throughout the year.

Please take into account the deconsolidation of . So what was previously reported under personnel expenses, around about EUR 3.5 million we communicated is now included in the other operating expenses.

Right. Is that also the reason why average headcount went down.

Two questions from my side. First one is on Malta. I mean the passenger growth, you mentioned it accelerated to 15.8% in April. And -- but I guess even without the late Easter, the increase would have been still double digits. So the question is, I mean, you mentioned that the summer season is going to be slightly up versus -- or up versus last year. But are you, at this point, able to specify this a bit further because numbers, they just seem to be very strong. And why do you expect such a deceleration for the summer months here?

I think maybe I didn't express my thoughts not correctly. I meant to say that I expect a bit of slower growth than what we've seen in April, but not just slight growth over last year. So look, I can't tell you if it's 9%, 10% or 12%. I would surprise if we see over summer again, 15%. So I think the growth will not be as high as what we've seen now in April. Still, yes, you're right, it's probably double digit, but let's see.

Okay. And then the second one, again, on the winter incentives. I was just wondering what your rationale was behind introducing the winter incentives this year and whether there was some pressure for -- from the side of the airlines that requested some concessions here. So what was the rationale to introduce?

No, I think the rationale was that usually, we have very -- compared to our summers, winter is very weak. So airlines find it difficult as you've seen to fill the place. And that's why we thought this is a good year to try something like that out. But this is just a test, and we don't have to continue this next year. So probably we will not continue next year, a decision we have to take over summer, when we apply for our charges next year. So overall, the idea was to attract some more passengers and some more capacity in the winter months, which with some airlines, it worked as you see the good results from Ryanair. Others did not make that much out of this additional incentive. So let's see if we continue with this incentive next year. But overall, we have too much of seasonality and it would be good if we have some extra growth in winter. That's the idea behind it.

Okay. Thank you. Any follow-ups or any further questions?

Seems not to be the case. Thank you.

Then thank you, everyone, for participation. Goodbye.

Thank you. Goodbye.

Thanks a lot. Bye.