Swedavia's interim report for July-September 2022: Enhanced access, passenger growth and positive earnings - despite growing turmoil around the world
Travel at Swedavia's airports continued to increase sharply during the third quarter of the year, driven by the post-pandemic recovery in travel and airline investments at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The increase in travel had a positive impact on Swedavia's results, with increased net revenue and positive operating income for the second straight quarter. At Arlanda, security checkpoint wait times have now normalised, and during the period the airport was again one of the top performers in Europe in terms of punctuality.
The recovery in air travel continued during the third quarter this year, and at the end of the quarter passenger volume reached 76 per cent of the pre-Covid level in 2019, the highest figure since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. All in all, more than 20 million passengers flew to or from Swedavia's ten airports during the nine-month period, which corresponds to an increase of nearly 200 per cent compared to 2021.
"So far this year, we have had exceptional growth at Swedavia's airports, which continues to have a positive effect on Swedavia's results. After numerous quarters of losses related to the effects of the pandemic, it is naturally gratifying to report positive earnings, for the second straight quarter. It is clear that people long to travel and meet people and prioritise this when they have the chance. That is true of travel to visit relatives and friends, but there is also a need to meet again in work contexts," says Swedavia's president and CEO, Jonas Abrahamsson.
Swedavia's net revenue for the third quarter totalled 1,311 million Swedish kronor (793), which is an increase of 518 million kronor compared to the same period last year. Operating income was 75 million kronor (-250), which is a 325 million kronor improvement. Cash flow from operating activities was positive for the third quarter, at 322 million kronor. Operating profit for the nine-month period was -183 million kronor (-1,119).
"There has been an increase in travel despite growing concerns about the economy, high inflation and a challenging situation in terms of security policy. There are also Covid restrictions in place in different areas around the world, which affects travel. That combination of factors contributes to an uncertain market trend, but there are many indicators that travel will continue to increase in the long term," says Jonas Abrahamsson.
At Stockholm Arlanda Airport, the staffing situation at the security checkpoints improved significantly during the period, which means that security checkpoint queues and wait times have now normalised. About 90 per cent of all passengers have a queue time of 0-15 minutes. Meanwhile, punctuality at Arlanda, as well as at European airports in general, further improved during the period. Arlanda continues to rank at the top as one of the most punctual airports in Europe.
Swedavia AB (publ) is required to disclose the information in this Interim Report under the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Market Act. The information was provided by the contact person below for publication on October 31st, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. CET.
For further information, please contact Robert Pletzin, Head of Media Relations, at Swedavia, or Swedavia's press office at tel. +46 (0)10-109 01 00 or press@swedavia.se.
The Swedavia Group owns, operates and develops ten airports across Sweden. Our role is to create the access Sweden needs to facilitate travel, business and meetings. Safe, satisfied passengers are the foundation of Swedavia's business. Swedavia is a world leader in developing airports with the least possible environmental impact. In 2021, the Group had annual revenue of about 2.7 billion Swedish kronor and nearly2,300 employees.