MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish airport operator Aena’s first-half net profit rose 33% 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 ($874.91 million) in the first six months of the year.
Around 144 million passengers passed through Aena’s Spanish terminals in the first six months of 2024, up 11.4% on the 130 million travellers in the same period last year, prompting the airport operator to upgrade its full-year forecast last month as the country’s tourism industry continues to set records.
Aena said it saw a 10.5% increase to 172 million passengers served at all the airports it operates, including London Luton in Britain, and a series of terminals in Brazil.
The official data showed the tourism rebound following the pandemic remains strong in Spain even though mass tourism is increasingly generating discontent among Spanish residents in hot summer spots such as Barcelona or the Spanish islands of Balearic and Canary Islands.
Aena’s revenue from shop rentals, parkings 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 for the period.
Aena’s commercial revenues are growing at a higher rate than its aeronautical revenues, the company said. Its expenses, excluding energy costs, were 11% higher in the period.
Aena said its board approved a five cent increase to 10.40 euros per passenger in airline fares from March 2025. The increase still requires a review by the Spanish competition authority.
($1 = 0.9242 euros) (This story has been refiled to remove an extraneous word in paragraph 4)
(Reporting by Corina Pons, editing by Inti Landauro and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
