ZURICH and TEL AVIV, July 7, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- A group of five investors approved the incorporation of a new company under the name of Swissport Cargo Services Israel Ltd. in order to build up new freight handling facilities. This step will allow Swissport to enter a closed market situation at Ben Gurion Airport by 2007 and to get access to a growing Air Cargo business segment.
Swissport, as the majority shareholder, is teaming up with a group of reputed companies, such as C.A.L. Cargo Airlines Ltd., Dankner Investments Ltd., Laufer Aviation Ltd. and Flying Cargo Ltd. After the construction phase of the new terminal facilities, it is planned to start operations by beginning of 2007. This strategic investment ideally complements Swissport's existing Ground Handling presence in Tel Aviv, and makes Swissport one of the biggest and most important Airport services providers in Israel. Despite the political unrest, the cargo market has constantly grown and shows further promising development potential for the years to come. Numerous Airline customers have already expressed their interest to make use of this new service provider since the current market situation with only one cargo handler is hindering further quality improvements at competitive rates.
Positive global outlook for the cargo sector
Globalization, the booming Asian economy, and an increasing demand for just-in-time services and deliveries are driving long-awaited improvements to yields, load-factors and revenues for carriers. Industry experts are also predicting two other major trends in the next 12 to 24 months. Firstly, the launch of further cargo-specific airlines with dedicated wide-body freighter operations, and secondly, the continued outsourcing of cargo-related support services, such as warehousing and security.
Swissport is constantly anticipating these key trends, in particular the outsourcing opportunities where productivity and cost savings for airlines can be significantly improved. The actual Swissport cargo business figures for the first four months in 2004 are looking promising. A revenue increase of 35% compared to 2003 is certainly proving that further positive developments can be expected until the end of 2004.
With a workforce of some 22 000 personnel, Swissport International Ltd. (which is majority-owned by London-based Candover Partners Ltd., a leading European buyout specialist) provides ground handling services for over 70 million passengers and three million tonnes of cargo a year on behalf of some 600 client companies. Swissport is active at 169 airports in 34 countries on four continents, and generated total revenues of CHF 1.2 billion (around US$950 million) last year.