Prague Airport Receives Improved Rating of Aa3 with Stable Outlook from Moody‘s

As defined by Moody’s, the Aa3 rating that has been newly assigned to Prague Airport means that its obligations are of high quality and subject to low credit risk. According to the agency, Prague Airport’s rating outlook is stable. “Moody’s confirmed that Prague Airport has long been perceived as a trusted entity and reliable partner for potential investments. This is an important prerequisite for us to meet the commitment to develop the airport’s capacity and services without receiving any state funding. In that regard, it is still our intention to finance development projects from our own revenues. In a situation where a loan is necessary, our very high reliability rating will ensure that we obtain favourable credit terms,” says Václav Řehoř, Chairman of the Prague Airport Board of Directors.

In its report, Moody’s highlights Prague Airport’s strong position as the operator of the largest airport in the Czech Republic and positively assesses its stable financial background and responsible strategy in implementing development plans.

The agency’s decision to raise Prague Airport’s rating and change its outlook from positive to stable was primarily motivated by the following factors:

• Stable cash flow, which is based, in particular, on the company’s strong position as the operator of the largest airport in the Czech Republic, which serves the catchment area of Prague with a population of 2.5 million in its wider metropolitan area and another 4 million inhabitants within a 90-minute driving distance.
• Airport charges that are competitive and stable in comparison with other similar airports in the region. The growth in Prague Airport’s revenues from aviation business in the last two years was mainly due to the rising number of passengers, not due to increases in airport charges.
• Improvement in operating results, which are supported particularly by the new and emerging connections and by capacity increases on the existing ones. Last year, Prague Airport handled 16.8 million passengers, which means a 9% growth compared to 2017. It is expected that passenger numbers will continue to rise, considering that 5,812,597 passengers passed through the airport during the summer season this year, representing a year-on-year increase of 6%.
• Company’s excellent financial profile, which is sustainable even after any potential extensive investments in the development of a new terminal and parallel runway.

This year, the Czech Republic has also been given the Aa3 rating with a stable outlook by Moody’s. As far as Letiště Praha, a. s., as a joint-stock company is concerned, the rating reflects the performance of the whole Prague Airport Group, including its subsidiaries Czech Airlines Technics, a.s., and Czech Airlines Handling, a.s.

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