Budapest Airport closed the year 2023 with a huge profit

Budapest, 31 May 2024. Thanks to Budapest Airport’s responsible financial management and the company’s intensive efforts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the airport operator closed its second profitable year after COVID last year. The company ended 2023 with a net profit of 74 million EUR on net revenues of 337.8 million EUR, and over the past two years, it has reduced its losses accumulated under COVID to 47 million EUR.

According to bud.hu, on the back of improving passenger and cargo traffic data, the financial results now clearly show that after 4 years, Budapest Airport (BUD) has overcome the severe difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. After two very tough years in 2020 and 2021, the company was already on the road to recovery in 2022, but only managed to partially cut its losses. The recovery continued in 2023 and BUD could finally end one of the toughest periods in its history. Last year, passenger traffic exceeded previous expectations, with 14.7 million passengers using Ferenc Liszt International Airport, a 91% recovery from pre-pandemic levels. Air cargo volumes hit an unprecedented record, with the BUD Cargo City handling more than 200,000 tons of cargo. According to the company’s preliminary forecasts, the number of passengers using Budapest Airport in 2024 will surpass the record-breaking 2019 figures and approach 17 million, while cargo volumes could reach a new milestone of 240,000 tons.

All of these results are reflected in the company’s financials for 2023: Budapest Airport closed last year with a 20% increase in net revenue compared to 2022, at 337.8 million EUR. The profit after tax was 74 million EUR.

In 2023, BUD carried out capacity expansion and infrastructure developments worth a total of 77 million EUR (approximately 30 billion HUF), bringing the total amount of investments in the large-scale series of developments started at the beginning of 2019 to over 130 billion HUF by the end of 2023. Passengers were able to see new developments, such as the expansion of the self-service baggage drop-off system, the installation of soundproof booths in the terminals and the opening of a new observation and smoking terrace in Terminal 2B. Family-friendly services have also been enhanced with new play areas, and security screening has been made even more seamless with the addition of a waiting time display system, now also available on the website. The baggage reclaim area in T2A has been expanded with 520 square meters and an additional two new baggage carousels, Terminal Parking opened with 586 spaces and 8 spaces for coaches and the construction of a new airport hotel commenced. Work has also been going on behind the scenes with the refurbishment of several taxiways and the asphalt and concrete paving of the apron. The first phase of the expansion of the BUD Cargo City was also completed, with the construction of two new aircraft stands, enabling four cargo aircraft to be handled simultaneously, and the warehouse and office space of the cargo handling complex was increased by 6500 square meters.

Last year, Budapest Airport also successfully renewed its maturing bank loans, extending an important pillar of financial stability for at least another 7 years, thus ensuring that the airport’s development will continue to be on a sound financial footing in the future.

These results, combined with a dividend not being paid out on the 2019 profit, allowed a dividend payment to Budapest Airport’s Hungarian parent company of 43 million EUR after four very difficult years. The dividend remained in Hungary, to reduce losses also accumulated since COVID at the Hungarian parent company level.

“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 industry has also acknowledged the significant improvements resulting from our investments by upgrading the quality rating of the airport to four stars, and Budapest Airport worked throughout last year to maintain and raise this outstanding quality,”

emphasized Kam Jandu, the CEO of Budapest Airport. He added:

“With a total of 28 international and Hungarian awards in one and a half years, Budapest Airport has reaped the rewards of all the effort, creative work and energy that our company has put into continuously improving the quality of the airport and the passenger experience over the past years. Our aim is to continue this effort going forward, which is already reflected in the ASQ (Airport Service Quality) results for the first quarter of 2024, where among 20 peer airports surveyed, Budapest Airport was ranked first, ahead of Prague, Alicante and Barcelona, for example. This is the first time in the history of the airport that we have achieved this prestigious position.”

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