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The winning-price was favourable?
The auctioning process went very quickly and there
have been no such overvalued offers from competitors
as like four years ago. The successful bidders had
an adequate head-up versus the minimum prices
required by the government. For our two concessions
Fortaleza and Porto Alegre we are paying 560 million
Euro. This suits well to the at present rather modest
expectations. But over the longer term nothing has
changed as to the high potential of this large and rich
of raw materials country.
Other than in 2013, this time no local offerers did
participate. Are you now doing this alone?
Here, first of all, we went alone into the race, but we
are open for a local partner who for example could
add experience as regards the technical construction.
But very clearly we will maintain the majority and we
will fully consolidate the participations.
Was it this now, for once, with your expansion
strategy?
If you are looking to our net financial debt, you will
see that we have reduced this before the acquisitions
increase and Brazil to net 2,35 billion Euro and
a gearing of around 60 %. To this, naturally has
contributed also the 240 million Euro of damage
compensation payments from Manila. Now, naturally
before because of the acquisitions, we move quite
away towards 3,4 to 3,5 billion Euro net corporate
debt. In spite of this, we still have significant leeway
for the acquisition of additional airports.
Do you have any concrete plans?
We continue to be very interested in the airport at
Sofia, Bulgaria, for which an auction has been started
in the last year. But the new elections in Bulgaria
in March have deferred this process. It is uncertain
whether and when the process will continue. On
principle, the airport would be a good fit for us
because in Bulgaria we already have the Black Sea
airports at Varna and Burgas and we could generate
synergies with the Sofia Airport.
At St. Petersburg you have divested shares.
The divestment of shares was a clear opportunity.
There came to us the state fund QIA, an investor from
Quatar, who made an attractive offer to us for 10,5 %
of our participation. With this, we received around 35
million Euro Ebitda result. But we stick to the now still
existing 25 % participation because this is a condition
for our concession. As a perspective, we remain
optimistic for St. Petersburg. In March, there was a
passenger plus of 25 % which was a positive surprise.
In a few years there probably
will only exist the short range flights versus the long
range flights,
and not any longer the low cost carriers versus the
network carriers.
Then it would have been better not to sell?
It is part of our business model to further develop
participations in airports, and at some time to also realize
the value appreciation. Analysts have continued to ask
us about the value of minority participations, in order
to be able to better evaluate the Fraport share price. In
so far we can now say, you do not have to simply believe
what we say. But you can now also see, that behind our
minority participations there is real value
Does this success of selling shares in your view explain
the good development of the Fraport share price in the
most recent time?
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