Aena stages big post-pandemic rebound as profit jumps 81%

By Corina Pons

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish airport operator Aena, the world's largest in terms of passengers, said on Wednesday it expects to handle 1 million tourists a day this year after booking record profit in 2023, recovering faster from the pandemic than its peers.

Aena, which operates all Spanish airports as well as terminals in Latin America and Britain, said 2023 net profit rose 81% to a record 1.63 billion euros ($1.76 billion) as passenger traffic surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Analysts polled by LSEG had expected a 62% increase in net profit.

Aena's overall revenues jumped 21% to 5.14 billion euros, more than the 19% estimated by analysts, as its commercial income improved more than its revenues from airlines operations due to lower fees than in 2019.

In pre-pandemic 2019, net profit was 1.44 billion euros.

Traffic at Spain's airports, all operated by Aena, rose 16% in 2023 to a record 283.2 million passengers, 3% more than in 2019, before the pandemic brought air traffic to a halt.

The company took over the management of 11 airports in Brazil at the end of last year, including the Congonhas terminal, Brazil's second largest, which allowed it to manage 314 million passengers in 2023, securing its position as the world's largest operator.

Aena CEO Maurici Lucena told a press conference his company may be handling nearly 1 million passengers a day on average as early as this year.

Tourism worldwide is finally set to fully recover from the pandemic this year, according to estimates from the United Nations' tourism body.

While Aena is reporting higher passenger numbers than before the pandemic, rivals such as London's Heathrow and Aeroports de Paris in France are not there yet. Both grew significantly last year but were still slightly below 2019.

Aena's strength raised speculation that it could bid for other airports elsewhere, such as Edinburgh, though Lucena said it was focusing on integrating its Brazilian assets.

Aena, 51% owned by the Spanish state, plans to raise its dividend to 7.66 euros for 2023 from 4.75 euros a year earlier. ($1 = 0.9236 euros)

(Reporting by Corina Pons, editing by Inti Landauro)