Retail boosts AdP half-year results

Nicole Mezzasalma

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Duty-free revenue was up by 14.1% following new store openings and an increase in international passenger traffic

Airport operator Aéroports de Paris (AdP) has announced its results for the first half of 2008, highlighting a 12.3% rise in consolidated revenue to €1.2bn ($1.8bn) compared with the first six months of 2007, helped by “a very good performance in retailing”. Commercial revenue was up by 11.6% to €119.3m ($177.6m) in the period, boosted by a 14.1% increase in revenue from duty-free shops following a rise in international passenger traffic and the opening and renovation of stores at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CdG) and Paris Orly airports. Landside store revenue was up by 14.6% to €4.7m ($7m).

Revenue from retail joint venture Société de Distribution Aéroportuaire (SDA), owned in partnership with Aelia, grew by 17.1% to €87.2m ($129.8m) in the first half of 2008. AdP said the good results reflect “the dynamic sales momentum of shops in restricted areas as well as the strong performance of the new shops in La Galerie Parisienne [terminal 2E]”. The results follow the renovation of existing retail areas at Orly Sud, which has been reconfigured with passenger flows in mind, and at Paris CdG T1, three-quarters of which have been completed.

AdP chairman and CEO Pierre Graff said: “Aéroports de Paris generated robust revenue growth of 12.3% in the first half of 2008, strongly outpacing the increase in passenger traffic. This performance illustrates the success of the group’s strategy of enhancing revenue, which it has pursued since the IPO with notably strong performances in retailing and real estate, and the rapid expansion of our subsidiaries, which specialise in commercial retailing, telecommunications and international operations.”