Success in the 3rd quarter

Vienna Airport: more passengers, revenue & profit

(Bild: Flughafen Wien)

The listed company Flughafen Wien AG can look back on a strong third quarter of 2024. Passenger numbers, revenue and profit all increased. 

With 31.6 million passengers in the Group, a year-on-year increase of 9.1% was recorded. Revenue increased by 13.3% to EUR 792.5 million, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved by 10.8% to EUR 368.1 million and the operating result (EBIT) rose by 14.4% to EUR 268.7 million.

Net profit for the period rose by 19.4% to 207 million euros, as the company announced on Thursday. Cash flow from operating activities amounted to 322.1 million euros after 286.1 million euros in the third quarter of 2023.

Airport looks to the future with confidence
The company is correspondingly positive about the future - provided that there are no "further geopolitical effects or massive traffic restrictions". Vienna Airport expects the Group to achieve revenue of over one billion euros, EBITDA of over 400 million euros and a profit for the period before minority interests of at least 220 million euros by the end of the year. Investments in 2024 are expected to exceed EUR 200 million.

The Flughafen Wien Group also recorded year-on-year growth in passenger numbers from January to September. Vienna Airport alone recorded an increase of 7.2 percent to around 24.1 million passengers, Malta an increase of 15.5 percent to 6.9 million passengers and Kosice an increase of 18.3 percent to 609,690 passengers. Meanwhile, the number of flight movements in Vienna rose to 177,356 (plus 5.9%) take-offs and landings. Cargo volume also increased significantly by 19.7 percent to 216,360 tons.

The outlook here is also optimistic. The airport expects more than 30 million travelers for Vienna Airport in 2024 as a whole and more than 39 million travelers for the Flughafen Wien Group (including investments).

New operations and hotel "strengthen the location"
"Vienna Airport will exceed the billion-euro revenue threshold for the first time in 2024. Investments will exceed EUR 200 million in 2024, above all in the southern expansion of the terminal, but the construction of the new hotel and new business settlements will also strengthen the location", said Günther Ofner, Member of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG, according to the press release. The main drivers are "the positive development of the airlines, long-haul growth - especially to Asia - as well as new short-, medium- and long-haul flight offerings in winter 2024/25".

The travel boom also has its downsides. According to Verkehrsclub Österreich (VCÖ), air travel in Austria caused 2.68 million tons of climate-damaging emissions in 2023, 40 percent more than in 2022, making the aviation industry one of the country's largest greenhouse gas emitters alongside voestalpine, Wien Energie and OMV.