^Original-Research: Flughafen Wien AG - from NuWays AGClassification of NuWays AG to Flughafen Wien AGCompany Name: Flughafen Wien AGISIN: AT00000VIE62Reason for the research: UpdateRecommendation: HOLDfrom: 29.02.2024Target price: 57.00Target price on sight of: 12 MonatenLast rating change: Analyst: Henry WendischRecord FY'23, dividend hike and better outlook; chg. est. & PT Topic: Yesterday, FWAG released FY'23 prelims which came in better thanexpected. Moreover, management proposed a nearly doubled dividend andhinted towards a conservative passenger guidance. Sales remained elevated and showed strong growth of 26% yoy to EUR 232m in Q4(FY'23: EUR 932m, +35% yoy) thanks to ongoing strong growth of passengernumbers. Main contributions to the strong sales growth came from thesegments Airport (+29% yoy; 46% of sales) as well as Handling & Security(+33% yoy; 19% of sales), but also Malta (+22% yoy; 11% of sales). See p. 2for details. Albeit being seasonally softer than Q2/Q3, Q4 EBITDA came in better thanexpected at EUR 61m, +53% yoy (FY'23: EUR 393m, + 33% yoy) thanks to the betterthan expected top line. On the other side, EBITDA margins (Q4: 26.2%, +4.4pp yoy; FY23: 41.8%, +0.2pp yoy) seem to have reached cruising altitude,as additional OPEX (Q4: + 21% yoy; FY'23: +32% yoy) are also incurred frompassenger growth. In Q4, EPS grew less strong compared to EBITDA at EUR 0.13 (+16% yoy; eNuW: EUR0.03), mainly due to the EUR 10m oneoff stemming from the penalty for theearly debt repayment. However, on a FY basis, EPS grew much stronger thanEBITDA to EUR 2.01 (+56% yoy; eNuW: EUR 1.90) due to constant D&A (+0.6% yoy)as well as an improved financial result (EUR -4m vs. EUR -9.3m in FY'22). Consequently, FWAG announced to substantially increase the dividend to EUR1.32 per share (+70% yoy; eNuW: EUR 1.33 DPS), implying a pay-out ratio of66% (eNuW: 70%) and dividend yield of 2.6%. FWAG's strong cash generation (FY'23 CFO: EUR 385m, 204% cash conversion) aswell as its strong net cash position of EUR 362m per Y/E'23 should continueto cover dividend payments (EUR 111m) and CAPEX needs (EUR 217m), while stillgenerating some excess cash of EUR 44m during FY'24e, further improving thenet cash position to EUR 400 by Y/E'24e (eNuW). Additionally, this shouldalso support EPS growth, as the interest received (eNuW: EUR 18m in FY'24e),should also improve the financial result from EUR -4m in FY'23 to EUR 15.6m inFY'24e. Better outlook than previously expected: While management remained cautiousregarding the FY'24e outlook, it highlighted during the CC, that based onmost recent booking data by airlines and travel agencies, the coming summerlooks set to be even better than last year. The current summer schedulealready shows up to 60 airlines featuring about 190 destinations in 67countries. Given that, the current guidance of c. 39m (+2.7% yoy)passengers for FY'24e already seems conservative (given that no majorconflicts intensify, negatively affecting air travel), whereas our newestimate of 39.8m (eNuW old: 39.2m) seems more probable now. Moreover,current tailwinds stemming from cargo, should also support promising growthin FY'24e. As a result, we also raise our sales estimates for FY'24e and beyond.Consequently, our estimates exceed the current guidance of c. EUR 970m sales(eNuW: EUR 998m), more than EUR 390m EBITDA (eNuW: EUR 420m) and more than EUR 210mnet income before minorities (eNuW: EUR 220m). As we roll over valuation to FY'24e and also reflect the increasedestimates in our DCF model (Beta: 1.4, WACC: 8.8%, risk-free rate: 2.5%,equity risk premium: 4.5%), we increase our PT to EUR 57.00 (old: EUR 52.00),but nevertheless recommend shareholders to HOLD onto FWAG, as we do notexpect significant share price hikes (only 15% upside to our fair equityvalue). For new investors, there is a lot to like about FWAG, except itscurrent share price.You can download the research here:http://www.more-ir.de/d/29025.pdfFor additional information visit our websitewww.nuways-ag.com/research.Contact for questionsDie Analyse oder weiterführende Informationen zu dieser können Sie hier downloadenwww.nuways-ag.com/research.Kontakt für RückfragenNuWays AG - Equity ResearchWeb: www.nuways-ag.comEmail: research@nuways-ag.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nuwaysagAdresse: Mittelweg 16-17, 20148 Hamburg, Germany++++++++++Diese Meldung ist keine Anlageberatung oder Aufforderung zum Abschluss bestimmter Börsengeschäfte.Offenlegung möglicher Interessenskonflikte nach § 85 WpHG beim oben analysierten Unternehmen befinden sich in der vollständigen Analyse.++++++++++-------------------transmitted by EQS Group AG.-------------------The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this research.The result of this research does not constitute investment adviceor an invitation to conclude certain stock exchange transactions.°