Budapest Airport Closes 2023 with Solid Profit and Record Figures

The operator of Budapest Airport closed the year 2023, with a net profit of EUR 74 million on a net revenue of EUR 337.8 million. In addition, it reduced its accumulated losses during COVID to EUR 47 million over the past two years, writes Turizmus.com.

Thanks to improved passenger and cargo traffic figures, the financial results now clearly show that Budapest Airport has overcome the severe difficulties caused by the COVID pandemic after four years, the company said in a statement.

After two very difficult years in 2020 and 2021, the company started to recover in 2022, but only managed to partially cut its losses.

The recovery continued in 2023, and the airport operator was finally able to end one of the most difficult periods in its history.

Last year, passenger traffic exceeded expectations, with 14.7 million passengers using Budapest Airport, a 91% recovery from the pre-pandemic level. Air cargo volumes reached an unprecedented record, with BUD Cargo City handling more than 200,000 tons of cargo. According to the company’s preliminary forecasts, in 2024, the number of passengers using Budapest Airport will exceed the record-breaking 2019 figures to reach nearly 17 million, while cargo volumes will reach a new milestone of 240,000 tons.

All these results are also reflected in the financial indicators for 2023: Budapest Airport closed last year with a 20% increase in net revenue compared to 2022, at EUR 337.8 million. In 2023, the airport operator implemented capacity expansion and infrastructure development projects worth a total of EUR 77 million, bringing the total investments in the large-scale development series started at the beginning of 2019, to over HUF 130 billion (EUR 332 million) by the end of 2023.

Last year, Budapest Airport successfully renewed its maturing bank loans, thus extending an important pillar of financial stability for at least another seven years, and ensuring that the airport’s development will continue to be on sound financial footing in the future.

These results, together with the dividend payment omitted from the 2019 profits, have enabled Budapest Airport to pay a dividend of EUR 43 million to its Hungarian parent company after four very difficult years.

The dividend remained in Hungary, at the level of Budapest Airport’s Hungarian parent company, in order to reduce the losses accumulated since COVID.

“Budapest Airport was voted the best airport in Europe last year thanks to the work of our airport community, and this year we have won the Best Airport in Eastern Europe award for the eleventh time. The significant improvements we have made through our investments have been recognized by the industry with the upgrade of the airport’s quality rating to four stars,” said Kam Jandu, CEO of Budapest Airport.

The results of the first quarter 2024 ASQ (Airport Service Quality) survey show that Budapest ranked first among the 20 airports surveyed, ahead of airports such as Prague, Alicante, and Barcelona. “This is the first time in the history of the airport that we have achieved this excellent position,” concluded the CEO.

Via turizmus.com; Featured image via Facebook/Budapest Airport