Aéroports de Paris’ proposal for the next Economic Regulation Agreement 2011-2015

France's Aéroports de Paris announced (09-Dec-2009) proposed guidelines for its 2010 fee rate and the main focuses of its proposed 2011-2015 economic regulation agreement (ERA). Aéroports de Paris stated it believes that the main strategic guidelines for the 2011-2015 period should aim to increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of the Paris platforms and improving service quality and customer satisfaction while enabling the company to create value. The airport owner is thus proposing:

• A commitment in favour of a decisive improvement in service quality;
• An investment programme focussing on renovating the oldest terminals and optimising existing facilities;
• A balanced approach of regulation, leading to a fee moderation policy over the period 2010-2015, in exchange of an adjustment of the regulated scope under which retail and real-estate diversification activities, would be removed from the regulated asset base;
• Continued productivity gains and constant improvements in operational performance;
• A freeze in airline fees in 2010, and an average annual increase of 1.38% above inflation over the period 2011-2015.

Aéroports de Paris' also forecast a slight revenue growth and an EBITDA of between EUR850 million and EUR880 million for FY2009, given the traffic trends over the last few months. For FY2010, given the traffic assumptions and Aéroports de Paris' proposal in fee levels, Aéroports de Paris' outlook is an EBITDA of between EUR850 million and EUR880 million. The airport owner added it is confident in the medium- and long-term growth of its business, forecasting slight growth (0.5%) in passenger traffic in 2010, followed by average annual growth of 3.2% for the 2011-2015 period, with the gradual recovery of the traffic. [more]