Record profits for Brussels Airport Company
Brussels Airport Company, the operator of Zaventem airport, achieved record turnover and operating profit last year, but will pay no dividends for the sixth consecutive year.
The company’s annual results, released on Friday, show that the number of passengers at the airport is not yet at record levels: 23.6 million in 2024, 6 per cent up on the previous year, but more than 10 per cent down on the 26.4 million in 2019, before the pandemic.
Despite this, the company posted record revenues for the second year in a row: 784 million euros, 11 per cent up on 2023.
The airport also handled 733,000 tonnes of cargo, an increase of 5 per cent in a year. Costs rose 8 per cent to 576 million euros, partly due to indexation, increased air traffic, new facilities and high security costs.
Future investments
Operating profit came in at 207 million euros, higher than the previous record of 200 million from 2019. Net profit was 91 million euros, more than half that of 2023 but not a record.
As in previous years, shareholders, including the Belgian state, do not receive a dividend. That choice is made “to consolidate financial strength and finance future investments”, the company said.
The airport operator recently announced its biggest investment of the past 30 years. It will spend 500 million euros to accommodate expected passenger growth to 32 million. Plans include a new intermodal hub, an expansion of the departure and arrival hall, a new hotel and a new drop-off zone.
In 2024, the company invested 255 million euros in new buildings in the Brucargo cargo area, a new parking building, the renovation of a runway, passenger bridges and the replacement of the fire detection system.
On Wednesday, Arnaud Feist, who has been CEO for more than 15 years, was reappointed for a six-year term.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT
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