First quarter 2025: Increased earnings and traffic

The group's earnings improved in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024. Adjustments to airport charges effective from February 2025 have resulted in higher fee revenues. Additionally, both a traffic growth of 6.0 percent and increased revenue per passenger contribute positively. 

Total operating costs for the quarter amounted to NOK 2,215 million, representing an underlying increase of 4.9 percent (adjusted for other costs). This is mainly explained by general price and wage growth, but partly also by increased traffic activity. Total operating revenues for the quarter amounted to NOK 2,904 million, representing an underlying growth of 16 percent (adjusted for other revenues). The result for the first quarter of 2025 includes other items with a positive net effect of NOK 8 million compared to a negative net effect of NOK 68 million in the first quarter of 2024. 

Avinor continuously works to adjust costs to ongoing operations. However, a significant portion of the group's cost base is relatively fixed and necessary to maintain safe and stable operations as required by the societal mission, as well as to perform government-mandated tasks. The group's adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2025 was NOK 689 million, which is an increase of NOK 299 million compared to the first quarter of 2024. 

There is still dialogue with the Ministry of Transport regarding the follow-up of the recommendations from KPMG in the independent company review conducted in 2024. This includes, among other things, the scope Avinor will have to optimize its own operations and cash flow, financing of tasks that Avinor performs for other sectors, as well as capital structure and dividend policy. 

Traffic growth 

11.4 million passengers traveled through Avinor's airports in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 6.0 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024. 

Growth in domestic and international traffic was 5.4 and 6.8 percent, respectively. 

International traffic accounted for 38.8 percent of the total number of passengers in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 38.5 percent in the same quarter the previous year. 

The largest increase comes from regional airports, with Tromsø leading the way. Oslo Airport experienced an increase of 5.2 percent from the same quarter last year, while Stavanger Airport had the weakest development with only 0.6 percent growth. Trondheim grew the most among the four major airports, with 5.8 percent. 

Avinor expects moderate traffic growth, up to 57 million passengers in 2031. International passenger traffic to Norway is expected to have good growth, while domestic traffic levels off. New travel patterns and new customer groups affect Avinor's commercial revenues and impose changed requirements on the service offerings at the airports. Avinor's traffic and commercial revenues are exposed to changes in traffic volume driven by both reduced supply from airlines and reduced demand for air travel from the market. Traffic and financial forecasts take into account the mentioned market outlooks to the best of their ability. 

Several major investment projects 

There is close follow-up and continuous focus on prioritizing the project portfolio. Avinor is undergoing a major change agenda with several large ongoing investment projects. Particularly, investments in upgrading baggage handling systems at Oslo Airport and government-mandated projects related to the renewal of airspace control and monitoring systems contribute to high investments. Additionally, the two major construction projects of new airports in Bodø and Mo i Rana are ongoing, as well as upgrades to the airports in Tromsø, Evenes, and Andøya. 

The changed security policy situation with new requirements for the national total defense in general, and the Norwegian Armed Forces in particular, may lead to ongoing premise changes that represent a risk of increased costs for development projects that interface with the Armed Forces.