Fraport Stock: Dividend Must Wait
Fraport’s stock has been able to significantly increase after the release of its record quarterly results. Even before, things have been going well – since mid-October, the airport operator’s stock has risen by almost 20%, and is now trading at almost € 55 (as of December 4th, around 12 noon).
However, Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte had not only good news: Due to the high level of debt, Fraport will not be paying dividends in 2023. And it is likely that there will be no dividends in the coming year either. Although the stock has been doing well lately, some analysts are skeptical – Fraport’s stock is currently viewed very heterogeneously.
Fraport with good numbers – but too much debt since Corona The months of July to September were the most lucrative quarter in Fraport’s corporate history. With an EBITDA of 478 million euros and a quarterly profit of 236 million euros, things were going well for the airport operator. Nevertheless, no dividends will be paid out to shareholders this year.
With around € 7.4 billion in debt at the end of Q3 2023, the company has to tackle other tasks first – at the end of 2019, before the Corona pandemic, the debt mountain was still around € 4.1 billion. Fraport currently plans to be “dividend-bearing” again in 2025, as the Fraport CEO told the Börsen-Zeitung.
Fraport stock: Experts with different analyses On the plus side for Fraport is the strong business development in Q3 and also the passenger numbers are making progress. In 2023, the number is expected to be no more than 10 to 15 percent below the pre-Corona figure of 2019. In addition, the chapter of the airport’s participation in St. Petersburg could soon come to an end, a final settlement of the dormant participation is generally more helpful here.
Nevertheless, the weight of the debt burden weighs heavily on the company, there is likely to be little incentive for investors in the coming quarters. The result: The analysts are by no means in agreement when it comes to the Fraport stock. Currently, some are recommending buying and others are recommending selling the stock. Based on the current price level, the experts see price targets ranging from a good minus 20 percent to about plus 35 percent.