Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport has today narrowed its full-year passenger growth forecast, sending its shares 2.3% lower.
The company reiterated its outlook for the full year but said it now expects passenger numbers in Frankfurt to reach the lower-end of its previously projected range of 61-65 million, compared to 59.4 million in 2023.
The new forecast translates into hardly any passenger growth in the second half, said Oliver Wojahn, an analyst at Mwb Research.
"So it is becoming clearer that the pretty steep increase in airport fees (+9.5%) is holding back passenger growth at Frankfurt airport," Wojahn added.
The company cited a slowdown in the number of passengers, with growth declining to 4.5% in the second quarter, compared with 10.4% in the first quarter.
Fraport, which manages or operates 29 airports, including Delhi and New York, said passenger numbers at Frankfurt Airport rebounded to about 86% of pre-pandemic levels in the first-half of 2024.
The group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 17.8% to €567.1m in the six-month period ended June 30, from €481.4m a year earlier, buoyed by growing demand for air travel.
Meanwhile, Johannes Braun, an analyst at Stifel, said a 3% beat in Fraport's EBITDA in the second quarter was due to a €9m flooding compensation that Fraport received for damages at its Porto Alegre airport in Brazil.
"While this is a one-off, we still rate it positively that the compensation for those damages come in timely," Braun added.
