TAV Airports posts strong duty-free, catering and lounge services Q1 growth

TÜRKIYE/INTERNATIONAL. TAV Airports, a member of Groupe ADP, turned in a strong performance across all key commercial revenue sectors to drive an +18% year-on-year increase in group revenue to €379 million in the first quarter of 2025.

The increase outstripped modest +4% passenger growth to 17.8 million across the 15 airports TAV Airports operates.

The Turkish company’s airport interests include commercial area management, duty-free (it owns 50% of ATÜ Duty Free, the balance being held by Unifree Duty Free/Gebr. Heinemann), food & beverage, lounges, ground handling, IT and private security.

Encouragingly, duty-free spend per passenger (SPP) rose +4% year-on-year to €8.9, despite a drag from the new Almaty International Airport terminal (opened in June 2023) where SPP fell short of the group average.

Total duty-free revenue rose +40% year-on-year to €12.9 million, driven by higher international passenger traffic; the enhanced SPP; the opening of the Almaty stores; and strong growth in Ankara and Izmir.

TAV Operation Services, the lounge & loyalty card business, also prospered, increasing revenues by 29%.

Catering services, driven by the new Almaty business and strong growth from food & beverage arm BTA, rose +19% to €38.8 million.

BTA provides F&B services at international standards across 14 airports in Türkiye, Georgia, North Macedonia, Tunisia, Oman, Latvia and Croatia. Its production facility, Cakes&Bakes, offers boutique-scale industrial production for nearly 100 brands. Since 2015, BTA has also operated under the TAV Airport Hotel brand at İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport.

TAV Airports noted Q1 revenue growth was boosted by price adjustments, commercial basket size growth, new commercial areas in Almaty Airport, Kazakhstan and the new TAV Technologies project in Qatar.

EBITDA growth was in line with passenger growth at +5%. The margin dilution of the TAV Technologies project, one-off gains which had boosted EBITDA last year and Turkish Lira inflation were the main low season factors cited for the differential between EBITDA and revenue growth percentages.

TAV Airports CEO Serkan Kaptan said: “We began 2025 with +5% year-on-year growth in international passenger traffic during the first quarter. While the growth was partially tempered by a relatively colder winter in Antalya, the Easter seasonality, and the Ramadan period falling within the low season, these factors reflect the strong seasonality inherent in our business.

“It is important to note that only 13% of our annual international traffic is typically realised in the first quarter compared to 39% in the third quarter. As such, first-quarter performance is not indicative of our full-year outlook and we remain confident in a robust summer season ahead.”

TAV Airports noted a key milestone this month, with the successful opening of the new terminal and airside capacity investments at Antalya Airport, Türkiye. These developments have increased the airport’s capacity from 38 million to 65 million passengers annually.

Looking further ahead, TAV Airports said it plans to expand passenger capacity beyond 80 million during its concession period with additional investments scheduled after 2038.

It also reported the signing of long-term financing agreements for this transformational project, which will solidify Antalya’s position as the leading mass tourism destination in the Mediterranean and continue delivering long-term value to TAV Airports shareholders.

TAV Airports noted that airside investment in Ankara Esenboğa Airport is progressing as planned and remains on track for completion in the second quarter.

Kaptan concluded: “Looking forward, we remain focused on realising a strong summer season and further enhancing the long-term value of our portfolio. Our Board of Directors has also communicated their intention to propose a dividend based on full-year 2025 net income – an important milestone we are proud to work towards for our investors.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our employees, shareholders and business partners for their continued support and commitment. Together, we are building a strong and sustainable global brand and I am confident that we will continue to achieve new milestones in our success story.”