Record passenger traffic lifts Spanish airport operator Aena's profit

Spanish airport operator Aena said on Wednesday its net profit in the first nine months of the year rose 27% from the same period last year as the post-pandemic travel boom pushed passenger traffic to new records. Aena booked a net profit of E1.44b out of revenues rising 16% to E4.39b. The revenue and profit data were in line with forecasts from analysts polled by LSEG, who expected E4.4b in revenues and E1.46b in net profit during the January to September period. The company reported a record 283m passengers across its terminals in Spain, Latin America and Britain in the period. Airlines that use Aena's airports in Spain expect traffic to continue to grow in the winter season and believe it can break last year's all-time record of passengers. Southern European airports will outperform their northern counterparts by traffic volume this year, according to analysts consensus, with southern terminals receiving more leisure travellers while northern destinations, which focus on business passengers, will be less busy.<br/>