Airport group ADP grows sales on sluggish return to air travel
PARIS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - French airport operator ADP posted on Friday a rise of nearly 9% in nine-month revenues as more passengers boarded flights, although in far fewer numbers than before the coronavirus pandemic.
The company, which has stakes in international airports in countries such as Chile, India and Turkey, saw passenger numbers climb 14.5% compared to the period from January to September 2020, but remained at just 39.1% of levels the previous year.
The company said a fall in passenger fees in its Parisian airports had been tempered by sales from airport shops and increased landing fees, resulting from a pickup in aircraft movements.
ADP confirmed its assumptions that passenger traffic would reach between 40% and 50% of their 2019 levels this year, bringing a profit margin of 15% to 20%.
It had previously hoped passenger numbers would reach as much as 55% of 2019 levels, but cut this over the summer as the recovery remained sluggish despite looser travel restrictions and the introduction of a European Union COVID-19 vaccine certificate.
ADP predicts traffic at its Paris airports will take until 2024 to reach 90% of pre-pandemic figures.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland in Paris; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Edmund Blair)
