Aena airports ended with losses in 2020 after seven years of increased traffic and profits. Highlight the red numbers 126.8 million in the year of the pandemic, a figure that contrasts with the 1,442 million won in 2019. Within the critical status of the accounts, the company improves the estimate of the losses expected by analysts consulted by Bloomberg from 190 million (average range between 155 and 230 million) .
The impact of the health crisis on income has been 2,262.9 millionThe decrease compared to 2019 is 50.2%, to 2,242 million. Ebitda, at 714 million, is shrinking 74.2% from the 2,766 million a year ago. The latter amount includes the 22.7 million contributed by London-Luton and the remainder of 66.8 million by Aena Brasil after updating the value of the concessions in that country, where the balance of contracts is sought in light of the debacle of traffic. The Spanish concession of Murcia airport collects an impairment loss of 45.3 million.
Despite the impact, Aena’s EBITDA also improves the 679 million expected by analysts’ consensus
The company is declaring 2,065 million in cash, to which it can add 845 million available in its promissory note program.
The 72.4% decrease in passenger traffic on the Spanish airport network, to 76.1 million, has led to the regulated income of aviation activity to a decrease of 67.1%, which corresponds to 986 million. The number of passengers fell by as much as 99% in the weeks of worldwide incarceration.
The commercial business, mainly based on the rent of space in the terminals, decreased by 16.4% in turnover to 1,046 million, but included a 635 million euro entry in the concept of the guaranteed annual minimum income (RMGA) at December 31.
The company collects this latest accounting entry as required by IFRS 16 (leases), but acknowledges that it has not been collected. Of the 635 million, 198 million are from the first alert (from March 15 to June 20, 2020), for which Aena has proposed a 100% waiver to its tenants in the RMGA.
Aena declares 2,065 million in cash, to which it can add 845 million available in its promissory note program
In terms of rent collection, Aena is keeping a pulse with some of its largest tenants for the amount of rents in the midst of the collapse of the business. The airport network operator proposed the aforementioned discount of 100% during the months of the first alert and of 50% from June 21 to September 8 this year. An offer to which the 100% discount is added for merchants affected by the complete closure of terminals. Aena has defended that with this assistance it goes beyond what is stipulated in the Royal Decree supporting the tourism, hospitality and trade sectors (RDL 35/2020), and that it savings measures of approximately 800 million for its tenants between 2020 and 2021 about the minimum rent they should have paid under normal circumstances.
For the time being, the company disclosed this morning that 56.2% of commercial customers, holders of 72 contracts and 13.2% weighed on the RMGA, adhered to the proposal. However, the ones with the greatest weight remain for Aena. Until a few dates ago, that was among those who rejected the invoices Dufry, Areas and SSPDuring the negotiations to rebalance the concession agreements of merchants, restaurateurs, financial institutions and other companies installed in the Spanish terminals, many of these companies have demanded a rent reduction comparable to the decline in air traffic.
“To illustrate, if this proposal were accepted by all commercial operators, the amount of the ongoing RMGA billed for the affected activities would go from the current 620.3 million euros to 179.5 million euros. The impact on the cash would occur in 2021. At the revenue level, the difference between the two amounts (440.7 million euro) would be adjusted as a linear lower income from the date of the agreements and over the life of each of the contracts involved ”, Aena explained in her presentation to the CNMV.
Discounts for airlines
Seeking traffic reactivation ahead of the summer season starting April 1, Aena board has approved an extraordinary incentive for airlines based on the recovery of operations through October 31.
The company rewards the recovery rate of minimum thresholds related to 2019 production: a start level of 30% is set for the first three months (April, May and June) and a 45% recovery for the last four months. For flights from these percentages of activity recovery for the same months of 2019, regardless of the number of passengers, the landing speed will be reduced by the same percentage as that of the reactivation.
Under normal circumstances, this rate has a weight of almost 20%, in the rate that the airlines bear, but with the lower current aircraft load factor, this part of the global rate has increased its weight in the costs of each airline. Last year, the Air Lines Association (ALA) requested that the incentive focus on lowering the passenger fare, but Aena is maintaining the landing speed reduction to reactivate operations regardless of transit.
The new discount will take place simultaneously with the application of the tariff freeze scheduled from March. Aena relies on a forecast of 137 million travelers for this year, still affected by flight restrictions. The figure represents an 80% jump from traffic in 2020.
The company chaired by Maurici Lucena also highlighted this morning the 405 million euros saved between April and December last year. A reduction resulting from the adjustment of the capacity and other austerity measures with the aim of saving money, while it has been decided to keep the workforce at 100%.
Incentives last during the summer season
Aena has already increased the landing speed reduction mechanism launched last June. The support to airlines was open until March 31, 2021 and aimed to reduce the cost of additional traffic from predetermined thresholds, with the discount on the landing rate.
In the October supplement, Aena reduced all operations in the same proportion as production recovered from a very low level of 20% compared to flights from the previous winter season (2019/2020).
The model will be maintained, but the thresholds will increase to 30% from April 1 to June 30 and to 45% during July, August, September and October.