Overall profit of DKK 1,055 million following a record summer
Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH) ended the third quarter with an overall profit of DKK 1,055 million before tax. This summer was the busiest in years for CPH, and with 3.2 million travellers, July saw the highest number of passengers in a single month in CPH’s 99-year history.
The strong appetite for travel continued in the third quarter: No less than 8.9 million passengers passed through the airport during the months of July, August and September, which resulted in the total number of passengers reaching 22.8 million for the first nine months of 2024.
“Summer is our absolute peak season, and this year we have had a record number of passengers passing through the airport. During the year, we have seen a growing appetite for travel with many Danes and southern Swedes travelling to destinations around the world from Copenhagen – but also large numbers of tourists landing at Copenhagen Airport to visit the Danish capital and the rest of the country,” says Christian Poulsen, CEO of Copenhagen Airports A/S.
In the third quarter, CPH generated a profit before tax of DKK 564 million. Adding the profit before tax for the first half-year of DKK 491 million, CPH ended the month of September and the third quarter with an overall profit before tax of DKK 1,055 million.
“I am pleased with our third quarter performance with a profit before tax of DKK 564 million, which is a significant improvement over the profit of DKK 264 million we generated in the same period last year. We are seeing strong growth in passenger numbers, resulting in significantly increased overall earnings for the first nine months of the year,” says Poulsen.
Revenue growth
Third quarter revenue amounted to DKK 1,470 million, resulting in total revenue of DKK 3,825 million for the year to date – a 25 per cent increase compared with the year-earlier period.
Aeronautical revenue from air traffic stood at DKK 901 million for the third quarter, a 41 per cent year-on-year increase. The increase was mainly driven by the higher passenger numbers and the new charges which came into force at 1 January 2024. The charges represent the price that airlines pay to use the airport’s runways, terminals and services. The last time charges were adjusted was in 2019.
Non-aeronautical revenue for the months of July, August and September amounted to DKK 569 million, an eight per cent increase compared with the year-earlier period. The improvement was adversely affected by shops being closed in connection with the ongoing construction project at Terminal 3. Non-aeronautical revenue is revenue derived from the shopping centre, the parking business, leasing of buildings and premises and from hotel operations at the airport.
Copenhagen Airport to be global hub for SAS
In September, SAS announced that it is expanding its presence at Copenhagen Airport and designating the airport as its global hub. SAS is the largest airline at Copenhagen Airport today, accounting for about a third of total traffic, and the airline will launch 15 new routes from Copenhagen Airport next year.
“We are obviously very pleased with SAS’ announcement and are delighted to welcome even more SAS flights and passengers. We look forward to working closely with SAS to assist in realising these plans, and make the necessary investments to ensure capacity expansion” says Christian Poulsen.
SAS’ expansion will have a knock-on effect on the entire airport. Copenhagen Airport is one of the largest workplaces in Denmark hosting more than 800 enterprises with some 17,500 employees.
“SAS choosing to favour Copenhagen Airport with new routes and more departures will generate growth and create jobs at and around the airport, and this will also benefit Denmark and the Danish economy in general. New routes and increased frequencies on existing routes will make Denmark more accessible to travellers. Good connections to destinations worldwide help attract foreign companies and labour to Denmark, and new direct routes will similarly make destinations around the world more accessible to Danish companies. This is good not only for the airport – it is also good for Denmark as a whole,” explains Christian Poulsen.
Growth on European routes
A total of 22.8 million passengers passed through Copenhagen Airport in the first nine months of 2024, up 12 per cent on the year-earlier period.
European routes to and from Copenhagen are seeing strong growth. In the third quarter, the number of passengers travelling to European destinations was up 13 per cent on the same period last year.
“We are experiencing a significant increase in the number of passengers on the European routes. Because flights to and from our 135 European destinations make up 84 per cent of our total traffic, it has a great impact on us when Europe is on a growth path,” says Christian Poulsen.
With 760,000 passengers in July, August and September, the UK ranked number one among the most popular countries. The routes to and from Italy saw the strongest passenger growth. Some 620,000 passengers travelled between Copenhagen and Italian destinations in the third quarter, a year-on-year increase of 31 per cent.
Fewer flights
Despite the rising number of passengers, there were fewer departures and arrivals at Copenhagen Airport compared with 2019, the year before the pandemic put aviation on hold.
There were a total of 176,478 passenger flights to and from Copenhagen Airport during the first nine months of the year – nine per cent fewer than in the same period of 2019, despite the number of passengers being about the same.
“Today, it requires fewer aircrafts than previously to transport the same number of passengers to and from Denmark. This is possible because more airlines now use more modern and fuel-efficient aircraft with greater seat capacity as well as increased load factors,” says Poulsen.
The load factor, or the average percentage of occupied seats on flights from Copenhagen, was 77.3 per cent in the first nine months of the year, compared with 75.2 per cent in the same period of 2019.
Updated outlook for the full year
In early September, CPH’s management updated its guidance for the remainder of 2024. The reason for the update was the busy summer with increased travel activity along with revised expectations for the rest of the year.
Revenue is expected to grow by around 24 per cent in 2024. This is primarily due to a greater number of passengers, as Copenhagen Airport expects to reach some 29.8 million passengers for the year.
Copenhagen Airport is guiding for a profit before tax in the DKK 1.25-1.40 billion range, provided passenger numbers reach the 29.8 million mark. The increase is mainly based on passenger growth, partially offset by a higher proportion of transfer passengers.
However, the updated outlook remains subject to uncertainty connected to the current geopolitical and macroeconomic environment. A deterioration in these factors may dampen the appetite for travel and thus have an adverse impact on the financial outlook.