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

Spanish airport operator Aena, the world's largest in terms of passengers, said on Wednesday it expects to handle 1m 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 E1.63b 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 E5.14b, 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 E1.44b. Traffic at Spain's airports, all operated by Aena, rose 16% in 2023 to a record 283.2m 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 314m 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 1m passengers a day on average as early as this year.<br/>