BERLIN, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The net profit of Fraport AG, operator of Frankfurt Airport, Germany's largest, increased to 91.8 million euros (100.5 million U.S. dollars) in fiscal year 2021, the company said on Tuesday.
In the first COVID-19 year 2020, Fraport posted 690.4 million euros in losses.
Fraport's revenues increased by 27.8 percent year-on-year to 2.14 billion euros in 2021. Strict cost management and sustained recovery in air traffic in Frankfurt and particularly at the international group airports from the second half of the year onwards supported the positive trend.
Cargo volumes in Frankfurt continued to develop positively. Despite the lack of passenger aircraft loading capacity, a new record was set at the end of the year.
In 2021, Frankfurt Airport handled 24.8 million passengers, an increase of 32 percent year-on-year. However, the figure remained 65 percent below the pre-pandemic level of 2019.
The "current flight bookings situation gives cause for optimism," Fraport AG's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stefan Schulte said. "The booking figures clearly underscore that people are eager to travel again. For this reason, we are now focusing on ramping up operations."
For the current business year, Fraport expects between 39 million and 46 million travelers at Frankfurt Airport, equaling 55 to 65 percent of the pre-crisis 2019 passenger level. Group revenue is projected to reach three billion euros. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars) ■