2011 press briefing on annual results: Airport company generates €531 million for BER

Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH is achieving positive traffic and business results in the run-up to the opening of the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. In 2011, passenger numbers exceeded the 24 million mark for the first time. The financial results for 2011 are also on target with sales revenues of €263 million and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of €86.4 million. The airport company has clearly exceeded its predefined goal of generating €440 million in internal financing from 2005 to 2011. "This gives us a sound footing to achieve further sustainable growth", said Prof. Dr. Rainer Schwarz, CEO of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH at this year's company press briefing on the annual results in Berlin.

The number of passengers at the capital airports Tegel and Schönefeld hit an all-time high of more than 24 million in 2011. Air traffic in Berlin and Brandenburg thus outpaced the average international commercial airport in Germany for the ninth consecutive year, enabling Berlin Airports to maintain its position in third place in the ranking of German commercial airports. Another particularly positive development is the increase in aircraft capacity utilisation – proof of a strong aviation market in the capital region.

The financial figures of the Berlin airports Schönefeld and Tegel for 2011 also add up: at around €263 million, revenues are on target and at approx. €86.4 million, EBITDA is above target. Compared to the previous year, strong revenue growth was recorded in the core business segments

 

	2011	2010	Change
Aviation	178,0	168,2	9,8
Non Aviation	47,0	43,8	3,2
Real Estate	29,3	27,4	1,8
Construction Services*	1,4	-	1,4
Services	3,0	3,2	-0,2
Other	4,6	4,3	0,3
Total	263,2	246,9	16,3

* Construction Services in 2010: excl. a one-time special item of €260 m

Traffic figures at the Berlin airports Tegel and Schönefeld doubled between 2002 and 2011. While 12.2 million passengers were recorded at the Berlin airports in 2002, the 24 million mark was exceeded for the first time in 2011 with 24,033,456 million passengers.

Of all the airlines, airberlin recorded the strongest growth over the last 10 years. While just one million passengers flew to and from Berlin with Germany's second-biggest airline in 2002, passenger numbers last year reached the 7.9 million mark. The Lufthansa Group has also been able to increase passenger numbers in Berlin over the past 10 years, from 4.3 million in 2002 to 5 million in 2011. easyJet also recorded particularly strong growth. The British airline has been operating flights to and from Berlin-Schönefeld since 2004 and was able to increase its market share in Berlin to 3.5 million passengers in 2011.

This positive development in passenger numbers is also reflected in the airport company's business results for the past 10 years: in 2002, the company had sales revenues amounting to €174 million. By 2011, this figure had risen to €263 million. The management has made the company more profitable and more market-oriented. This is evident from the increase in EBITDA (from €38 million in 2002 to €86 million in 2012) and the increase in the EBITDA margin (from 22 per cent in 2002 to 33 per cent in 2012). As a result, with €531 million, the company has clearly exceeded its predefined goal of generating €440 million in internal financing for the new BER Airport

On 3 June, the new Capital Airport – Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt – will go into operation. Aircraft operation areas and operational buildings have been completed, as have the underground systems, train station and rail link, and power stations. More than 6,000 builders are currently carrying out the final construction work on the airport. Until the opening, interior work must be carried out on the terminal, rental space developed and appurtenant areas including green spaces created. Building site facilities will be dismantled, final cleaning will be carried out and the building will be furnished.

On 12 and 13 May, just three weeks before the opening, all Berliners and Brandenburgers are cordially invited to get to know the new Capital Airport. The public festival "Around the terminal" will be the last opportunity to wander around the new terminal. On 24 May, BER Airport will be officially opened by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit and Brandenburg's Minister President Matthias Platzeck.

The main logistics challenge lies in consolidating the operations of the existing airports at BER in just a few hours during the night of 2–3 June. The majority of vehicles and apron equipment (e.g. firefighting vehicles, tow tractors and other special vehicles) must be transported overnight to Berlin Brandenburg Airport. Around 600 lorry trips will be made in just one night. The autobahn from Tegel to BER will be closed in one direction for several hours.