Spanish airport group Aena warns rebound in passenger traffic may not last

Spanish airport operator Aena (AENA.MC) has warned it does not expect a recent sharp recovery in passenger numbers to be sustained due to the tough economic environment, sending its shares to their lowest in nearly two years. The operator of airports serving Madrid, Ibiza and Tenerife among other destinations returned to profit in the first half after two years of losses due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, but foresaw traffic levels below 2019 this year. In a statement on Wednesday it posted a net profit of E164m in the six months through June compared with a net loss of E364m in the first half of last year, on revenue that doubled to E1.69b. Aena said that even though revenue soared thanks to rising aircraft traffic, its expenses rose 40% during the half year to 1 billion euros, largely due to higher energy bills. The company also said airlines had reduced their summer capacity in Spain to 200m passengers from a previously announced 216m. The number of passengers moving through Spain's airports in the first six months of the year increased to 104.9 million, 82% of the pre-pandemic level in the first half of 2019.<br/>