Average retail spend at Schiphol falls again in 2019, but food & beverage spend rises

THE NETHERLANDS. Average retail spend per departing passenger at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol fell by -1.8% year-on-year in 2019, to €12.90. It follows the -1.6% decrease recorded in 2018. There was a +1.7% increase in food & beverage spend last year, though, to €4.89.

Total concessions revenue at Royal Schiphol Group increased +2.3% in 2019, to €217 million. The company attributed this to a growth in passenger numbers at Schiphol and the other airports it operates, Rotterdam The Hague and Eindhoven. Traffic at Schiphol was up +0.9% to 71.7 million.

Amsterdam Schiphol saw a +0.9% rise in traffic in 2019 but said the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak will be “clearly apparent” in the air traffic statistics for February

Royal Schiphol Group’s total revenue was up +7% in 2019, to €1,615 million. Higher revenue was mainly driven by increased airport charges, parking fees and other revenue from passenger-related activities, the company said.

Revenue from rents and leases rose +1.3% to €171 million, which was mainly attributed to a positive trend in the lease of office buildings at Schiphol-Centre. The commercial real estate occupancy rate in 2019 was 93.8%, compared to 91.7% in 2018.

Royal Schiphol Group revenue breakdown 2019. Source: Royal Schiphol Group. Click to enlarge.

Parking revenue across the group increased +4.5% to €130 million, and by €4.6 million at Schiphol. This was mainly attributable to the rise in the number of passengers combined with a different mix of parking products.

Other revenue increased by +17.9% to €81 million, primarily driven by passenger related services for persons with reduced mobility.

In 2019, Schiphol invested some €860 million as part of its Roadmap Safety Improvement Schiphol programme to increase airport capacity, customer experience, operational efficiency and sustainability. Investments included the development of a new pier, the redevelopment of Terminal 1, new business lounges in the terminal, and the extension of the P3 parking garage and office building The Base D.

Royal Schiphol Group also strengthened its position in Australia in 2019 by increasing its shareholding in Brisbane Airport by +0.9%, to 19.6%, and acquiring a 35% stake in Hobart International Airport.

Royal Schiphol Group key figures 2019. Source: Royal Schiphol Group. Click to enlarge.

Looking ahead to 2020, the company said that barring unforeseen circumstances, it expected to see “limited growth” in passenger volume and a “stable normalised net result” compared with 2019.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol saw year-on-year passenger numbers rise +1.4% in January 2020 as it handled 5.1 million passengers. Travel to Asia was down -7% for the month, but the airport said this was primarily due to the withdrawal of Jet Airways, rather than COVID-19; traffic to China for the month was up +2.4% year-on-year.

Royal Schiphol Group noted that the impact of the coronavirus on air traffic “became clearly visible” in the last few days of January, particularly flights to and from mainland China. “Many airlines responded to the outbreak of the coronavirus by temporarily discontinuing or reducing the number of connections from Schiphol to mainland China,” the company said. “The effect of these measures will be clearly apparent in the air traffic statistics for February.”

Average food & beverage spend increased +1.7% in 2019. A dish from the HMSHost-operated healthy eating establishment Café Flor, which opened late in the year, is shown.
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