March 27, 2020
March 27, 2020
Munich Airport experienced extremely strong traffic growth last year. The number of passengers increased by 1.7 million, or nearly 4 percent, to a new all-time high of 47.9 million. During the same period, the number of take-offs and landings rose by 1 percent to nearly 417,000. In the intercontinental segment, which is a key driver of the airport's business performance, passenger numbers were up by an impressive 9 percent. Approximately 8.4 million passengers took advantage of the 59 intercontinental connections offered at Munich Airport. With the new gains in connectivity, Munich was able to further strengthen its position as an international hub. "We want to continue that trend when the current global crisis in aviation is over. Despite the expected massive decreases in traffic this year, our airport retains its enormous potential for continued dynamic growth," says Jost Lammers, the President and CEO of Munich Airport.
The significant rise in passenger traffic seen last year matches the strong financial results posted by Flughafen München GmbH (FMG) in 2019. Based on preliminary figures, the airport and its subsidiaries achieved groupwide sales revenues of 1.6 billion euros in 2019. This represents a year-on-year gain of 4 percent.
Earnings after taxes (EAT) showed a year-on-year increase of 25 million euros to a new record of around 175 million euros, while EBITDA rose to around 555 million euros. After depreciation and amortization, this results in EBIT of approx. 345 million euros. The equity ratio of FMG now stands at approximately 43 percent. At the same time, the return on sales remained at close to the previous year's level: The EBITDA margin, at 35.4 percent, was just 0.3 percentage points lower than the 2018 figure.
For Thomas Weyer, the FMG CFO and Director of Infrastructure, the outstanding financial results are significant especially in the context of the current challenges: "The fact that we posted the best result in our company's history in 2019 will help us in 2020 to weather the massive declines in traffic and revenues caused by the coronavirus pandemic. We are now benefiting from the substantial reserves built up through the successful operation of our airport."