Status: 03.05.2022 2:13 p.m
The financial situation at the capital’s airport BER remains tense. Despite rising passenger numbers, a significant loss is likely to have been incurred in the past year. Improvement is expected for 2022.
The capital airport BER does not come out of the red. After all, after another high group loss last year, the airport is counting on an operating profit for 2022. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) and special effects are expected to be EUR 177.4 million. In 2021, the result was still minus 11.3 million euros, according to the Berlin airport operator FBB. The bottom line is that you continue to calculate with red numbers. Due to high debt and legacy issues, FBB expects a consolidated loss of a good 147 million euros, after minus 569.1 million euros in the previous year.
BER remains dependent on billions in aid
The Corona crisis hits the capital’s airport harder than other airports, as BER has no financial cushion due to the years of construction delays and high debt. At the end of 2021, the equity was exhausted, as can be seen from the annual report. In order to be able to service the liabilities, BER remains dependent on billions in aid from its owners.
The airport belongs to the federal government and the states of Berlin and Brandenburg. By 2026, the owners would need a further 2.4 billion euros, airport boss Aletta von Massenbach said in November. At the beginning of February, the EU Commission approved state aid of EUR 1.7 billion.
Air traffic is increasing again
For 2022, von Massenbach expects air traffic to increase and the number of passengers to increase to around 17 million, after 9.95 million in the previous year. This would still only be half the level of 2019. On a few days, BER is almost back to the pre-crisis level for air traffic, said von Massenbach at the balance sheet press conference.
The entire FBB turnover is expected to increase to almost 550 million euros in 2022 – also thanks to land sales – after around 272 million euros last year. FBB is currently finding it difficult to assess the negative consequences of the Ukraine war on air traffic and thus business at the airport, but cannot rule them out either.