Unique profits fall 7.4%

Emily Pacey

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Zürich airport authority Unique blames duty-free business for a disappointing performance

Zurich airport operator Unique's net profits fell by 7.4% to SFr3.8m ($3m) in the first half of this year. During the corresponding period in 2004, its net profits stood at SFr4.1m ($3.3m). The operator has blamed the drop on poor duty-free sales.

Unique Zurich's first-half EBITDA were up by 3.8% on last year to SFr155.1m ($123.4m). The EBITDA margin increased to 48.95% of sales from 47.7%.

While the EBITDA met analysts forecasts, net profits and sales fell short of expectations.

The Nuance Group is the incumbent retailer at Zürich and has made a big investment in improving facilities at the location, but in common with many other travel retailers in Europe it has struggled to maintain profitability. In September last year Unique head of real estate and marketing Peter Eriksson said: "We would not wait until year five or seven if we were unhappy with our tenants' progress, and we would be prepared to look for another partner immediately."