Airport group ADP's revenue rises as air travel picks up

French airport operator ADP reported on Friday a nearly 12% rise in nine-month revenue as more passengers boarded flights, although in far fewer numbers than before the pandemic. The company, which also has stakes in international airports in India, Turkey and Chile among other countries, saw passenger numbers climb 14.5% in January to September from a year earlier. However, passenger volume remained at just 39.1% of levels seen in the same period of 2019 before the outbreak of the pandemic. Analysts at JP Morgan said the group’s sales over the late summer were better-than-expected and deemed its forecasts for 2021 “slightly conservative” in view of a US reopening. ADP reiterated its predictions that passenger numbers for the whole of 2021 would reach between 40% and 50% of their pre-pandemic levels, after cutting this forecast from 45% to 55% in mid-summer. But investors are eyeing a boost in international traffic later in the year, after the United States said last week it would lift travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors from Nov. 8. US allies had heavily lobbied the Biden administration to lift the rules, which kept millions of visitors out of the United States. ADP’s finance chief Philippe Pascal told analysts that though the group would look to moderately raise its tariffs, it would not do so as dramatically as some of its peers, but rather focus on controlling costs.<br/>