Spanish airport group Aena's profit jumps 33% on tourist demand

By Corina Pons

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish airport operator Aena posted a 33% rise in first-half net profit as passenger traffic expanded faster than expected, boosted by growth in tourist numbers visiting the country.

The company in charge of Spanish airports, and the world's largest in terms of passengers, said on Wednesday it made a net profit of 808.6 million euros ($875 million) in the first six months of the year.

Aena's commercial revenues grew faster than its flight-related business in the period, mainly due to strong sales at duty-free shops, higher rents contracts and special services for passengers, the company said.

Aena's shares however fell 5.68% after the release, heading for their largest daily fall in two years, with some analysts citing concerns over a preliminary government deal in Catalonia that would give the region a greater say in managing and financing the planned expansion of Aena's Barcelona airport.

CEO Maurici Lucena said the board had decided to hire legal experts to scrutinise the political agreement and its potential impact. "The company will undoubtedly defend its interests," he said on an analyst call, adding that the ownership of the airport was not in dispute.

Around 144 million passengers passed through Aena's Spanish terminals in the first half, up 11.4% from a year earlier, prompting its operator to upgrade its full-year forecast last month as Spain's tourism industry continues to set records.

Official data showed the tourism rebound following the pandemic remains strong in Spain, even though mass tourism is increasingly generating discontent among residents in hot summer spots such as Barcelona or the Balearic and Canary Islands.

The total number of passengers rose 10.5% to 172 million passengers, including through Aena's airports such as London's Luton and a stable of terminals in Brazil.

Aena's revenue from shop rentals, parking and other businesses at its airports, as well as from airline operations, rose by 18% to 2.75 billion euros compared with the first half of last year, in line with expectations.

Aena said its board approved a 5 cent increase to 10.40 euros per passenger in airline fares from March 2025. The increase still rests on a review by the Spanish competition authority, but Lucena was confident it would be approved.

($1 = 0.9242 euros)

(Reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and David Holmes)