Construction and financing matters were the focuses of Supervisory Board meeting on 15th May. In addition, agreement was reached regarding recruitment of a new CFO. Mrs Aletta von Massenbach has agreed to join FBB and will start her work on 1 September after previously being responsible for international affairs with Fraport, the company responsible for managing Frankfurt Airport. The FBB management team is now complete once again.
It was possible to draw initial conclusions of the construction efforts, namely that despite all the difficulties faced, construction approval was granted in April and represented a pleasing conclusion. Against this backdrop, airport CEO Lütke Daldrup took the gratitude and recognition of the Supervisory Board on behalf of his team.
Alongside pending work, the focus during the ongoing testing period now lies on practical testing on both the building and the processes. The Supervisory Board was informed by both management and an external consultant that initial testing with both partners and service providers were successful. Further testing operations and the use of extras are currently under consideration and are adapted to the new conditions.
Due to the corona-related difficulties at both airports, management reported that traffic levels have been at extremely low levels for weeks. For this reason, the requested application to be discharged from obligations at Tegel Airport remains justified.
Finally, the discussion about the fundamental issues regarding the company’s financial situation was of paramount importance. To this end, the auditors submitted their 2019 annual report confirming that FBB has submitted audited annual accounts in accordance with the corresponding statutory provisions, known as an unqualified audit opinion.
The Supervisory Board acknowledged the auditor’s report and approved the 2019 annual financial statements. 2019 operating results were EUR 108.4 million, which was some way below the record figures achieved in 2018. Group losses amounted to around EUR 96 million.
The Supervisory Board will continue to heavily focus on FBB’s financial position in upcoming meetings. Current media reports covering the company’s alleged financial difficulties were dismissed as unfounded by the Supervisory Board.
Rainer Bretschneider, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH: “Usage approval of Terminal T1 means that the biggest hurdle for BER starting on 31 October has been cleared. The Supervisory Board took this today as a reason to look back on its work over the last few years and to emphasise once again that completion of the Terminal T1 building was, above all, a team performance from all staff associated with FBB and would like to express our deepest gratitude to this effect.”
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, Chief Executive Officer of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH: “We have comprehensively informed the Supervisory Board about the air traffic situation. Although we have not been able to fully evaluate the financial effects, it is clear that we will continue to face the side-effects of this crisis for a long time to come. BER’s start at the end of October is great news for the financial recovery of FBB and a boost to the economy of the whole capital region.”
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