Between January and June 2020 Aena posted net profit coming to -170.7 million euros, 130.5% less than in the same period in 2019. This figure reflects the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, which has led to travel restrictions and as a result a sharp fall in air traffic from March to the end of June.
The number of passengers in the first half of this year fell by 66% in Spain to 43.5 million. When the figures for Luton Airport (London) and the six Aena Brazil airports are included, the number of passengers comes to 50.2 million, 65% less than in the same half of 2019. The drop in traffic became apparent in March and worsened in April, May and June with falls of 99%. Following the end of the state of emergency and the opening of EU-Schengen borders, traffic has recovered in July to reach 3,000 operations on some days of the month.
The company’s total consolidated income has fallen to 1,112.4 million euros, a 47.0% drop compared to the first half of 2019. The reduction in airport income was 58.9%, while commercial and real estate income fell by 20.5% to -124.4 million euros. In application of accounting standards (IFRS 16 - Leases), income from the minimum annual guaranteed rents (MAG) for the state of emergency period has been recognised. It amounts to 198.6 million euros and will form part of the negotiations which have been begun with the operators in order to maintain the value of the contracts and also tailor them to the current situation.
Aena’s gross operating profit (EBITDA(1)) in this period was 211.4 million euros, down by 82.2% on 2019, including 6 million euros from the consolidation of Luton and net of 77.6 million euros from Aena Brazil. In application of accounting standards (IAS 36), analysis has also been conducted to identify potential impairment as a result of COVID-19 relating to the Region of Murcia International Airport, the airports in Brazil and the assets in Colombia. The amount is 123.0 million euros which has no impact on cash flow. Financial rebalancing of these concessions is being negotiated with the relevant authorities.
The company’s cash flow(2) has come to 301.1 million euros compared to 1,111.6 million in the first half of 2019. In the same period, Aena’s net financial debt(3) fell slightly to 6,661.7 million euros compared to 6,672.8 million euros at the end of 2019.
Enhanced liquidity and cash outflow control
In March, Aena introduced a series of measures to ensure its services are properly operational and that liquidity is available in the short and medium term by targeting efforts to enhance its liquidity. Aena has cash and credit facilities amounting to 2,894 million euros in addition to the option of issuing up to 900 million euros through the Euro Commercial Paper (ECP) programme, of which 525 million euros is available.
In addition, Aena reorganised its airports to tailor the capacity of its facilities to the level of operations and implemented a plan to bring costs into line and halt new procurement. This led to savings in the amount of 157.1 million euros in the second quarter of 2020. Aena also temporarily halted its investment programme, which generated savings coming to 175 million euros in the second quarter.
At its meeting on 30 June, Aena’s Board of Directors decided to call the Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting for 29 October and to propose that the dividend charged to the 2019 results should not be distributed but rather allocated to voluntary reserves instead.
Operational recovery up to 3,000 operations a day in July
The airports in the Aena network began to recover traffic between late June and early July following the end of restrictions on travel in Spain and the opening of borders with the European Union and the Schengen Area. Operations have been gradually increasing from 1,000 at the end of June to over 3,000 operations per day on some dates in July.
Against this background of steady traffic recovery, implementation of the 2020 investment plan has also been restarted. The estimated investment amount for this year is 352.0 million euros.
Forecasting traffic evolution in the situation brought about by the COVID-19 crisis is complex due to the difficulty of quantifying its various impacts (economic, operational, healthcare, sociological, etc.). International aviation organisations such as Eurocontrol, IATA, ICAO and ACI estimate that there will be drop in the number of passengers in Europe coming to between 45% and 70%. The IATA in particular believes that world traffic will gradually recover by 2023.
Sector support: deferrals, incentives and negotiations
Aena has also negotiated other measures with companies delivering services at its airports and with customers and tenants relating to the impact of COVID-19. They include deferral of payments for a period of six months and rent reductions of up to 75% for real estate assets operated by airlines, handling agents, commercial suppliers, etc. The amount deferred under the various items comes to 83.6 million euros, with 18.6 million euros for commercial operators and 65.0 million euros for airlines.
At the same time, on 16 June 2020 Aena’s Board of Directors approved a commercial incentive scheme designed to make it easier for airlines to schedule operations regardless of the number of passengers they manage to get on the flights they do operate. This measure involves around 25 million euros based on the assumption that 71,000 operations will get discounts and refunds over the period July 2020-March 2021.
Aena’s commercial contracts are also being negotiated in order to maintain their value. These negotiations may involve a number of changes in contractual conditions to tailor them to the post-COVID-19 situation in terms of minimum annual guaranteed rents (including potentially reducing them tied to the length of the emergency period), the term of the contracts, etc. provided that tenants stay with their contracts.
Safe airport processes
Aena is working in coordination with the Spanish government’s health and transport authorities and also with EU member states and the international airport (ACI) and airline (IATA) associations to address the operational recovery of its airports and ensure the safety of passengers and employees.
All Aena’s airports have implemented EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) and ECDC (European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) safety protocols which have been converted into regulations in Spain. Furthermore, since 15 May the Ministry of Health’s Border Health service has been carrying out health checks on passengers arriving from abroad which were stepped up when Spain’s borders were reopened. Aena is supporting the Ministry of Health in carrying out these checks. The ultimate purpose of all the measures put in place is protection and confidence-building so as to recover traffic safely and encourage travel, tourism and economic activity.
- Calculated as Total income minus Total expenses plus Depreciation and amortisation
- Cash flow calculated as adjusted EBITDA – CAPEX – Interest paid – Tax paid.
- Calculated as Current Financial Debt plus Non-current Financial Debt minus Cash and Cash Equivalents