Zurich Airport Investor Day 2023
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
The proven long-term strategy will be continued with just a few adjustments. As soon as the traffic volumes at the Zurich site will have fully recovered, the EBITDA will be well above pre-crisis level and the balance sheet further strengthened. The new airport in Noida, India will make a significant contribution to the earning power of Zurich Airport Ltd. in the medium term.
Zurich Airport Ltd. is holding a Capital Markets Day for financial analysts and investors today. During the event, the management of Zurich Airport Ltd. with Josef Felder (Chairman), Lukas Brosi (CEO), Kevin Fleck (CFO) and Daniel Bircher (MD International) will provide information on the following topics:
- Confirmation of the long-term strategy that Zurich Airport continues to be one of the best airports in Europe and offers the highest quality of stay.
- Confirmation of medium-term financial targets with an incremental EBITDA contribution of CHF 100 million compared to 2019 as soon as traffic will have fully recovered at the Zurich site.
- Financial outlook for the new Noida International Airport in India.
- Solid cash flows enable continued investments in innovation and position the company for long-term growth.
Confirmation of the long-term strategy
Zurich Airport Ltd.'s long-term strategy has paid off and does not require any major adjustments. A central pillar of the strategy is that Zurich Airport continues to be one of the best airports in Europe in terms of quality. Not only the physical experience of the travelers is important, but also the positioning in the digital area. Therefore, all projects in the physical and digital world must contribute to quality, value creation and the sustainability goals to further develop the airports belonging to Zurich Airport Ltd. for customers and future generations.
The Circle is in its third year of operation and has largely developed very successfully. Modules such as gastronomy, hotels, the congress centre, health or office space have become very well established and well-known national and international companies choose the Circle as a location for their employees. To further increase the quality of stay, a few small adjustments – in particular the creation of additional gastronomy units and office space – are planned.
Medium-term financial goals
The previous medium-term financial goal – an incremental EBITDA contribution of CHF 100 million compared to 2019 as soon as traffic at the Zurich site will have fully recovered – is confirmed. This incremental EBITDA contribution comes primarily from the broader diversification of the business model. This includes the acquisition of the Priora properties at the end of 2019, the opening of the Circle in November 2020 and the acquisition of new airport concessions abroad, including the new airport in Noida in the south of the Indian metropolis of Delhi.
It is still expected that the traffic figures at the Zurich site will reach the level of 2019 again in 2025.
Financial outlook Noida International Airport
In 2019, Zurich Airport Ltd. was selected as the preferred bidder to develop, build and operate the new Noida International Airport in India. Despite the pandemic, the project has been developing according to plan since then. Milestones such as the signing of the concession agreement, securing local bank financing, the signing of the construction contract and the award of several sub-concessions (including freight handling, hotel and catering) were realised. Current planning continues to expect that Noida International Airport will open at the end of 2024.
Compared to the assumptions from 2019, the traffic estimates after the inauguration of the new airport are significantly higher and around 6.5 million passengers are expected in the first full year of operation. From the first year of operation, an EBITDA contribution in the double-digit million range in Swiss francs is expected, which is then forecast to increase to the three-digit million range in Swiss francs within less than five years.
Capital allocation
Due to the strong recovery, part of the additional debt incurred during the pandemic years has already been repaid this year. The solid cash flows make it possible to finance the investments to a large extent from own resources and allow a targeted further development of the business segments. In addition, Zurich Airport Ltd. aims to maintain an attractive dividend policy.
Zurich Airport Ltd. is strategically very well positioned. We are very pleased to present our achievements at the Investor Day 2023 and to share the focus of our development with the capital market over the next few years. We are also able to share more details on our most important international project in Noida, India and look forward to the planned opening at the end of 2024 with optimism.
Presentation
The presentations for the Capital Markets Day are available on the Investor Relations website (https://www.flughafen-zuerich.ch/newsroom/en/ir-presentations/) of Zurich Airport Ltd. The recordings of the presentations can be requested from Investor Relations (investor.relations@zurich-airport.com).