Spanish airports operator Aena has reported a first half year net profit up 80% to €276m ($305m), which it says was ‘boosted by higher air traffic and a series of one-off tax deductions.’

One of the highlights was the non-aeronautical growth however, with total revenue growth up 16.9% compared to HY1 2014. This was ‘mainly due to the impact of the improved terms of commercial contracts’, plus increased space and improved layouts; an improved range of brands; and the impact of higher traffic.

 

Aena said the commercial highlights included duty free (World Duty Free): +38.8% to €107.7m ($119.1m); f&b +16.3% to €56m ($62m) and stand alone stores +19% to €36.3m ($40.1m).

 

Aena’s core profit, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation reached €826m ($913m) in the six months to June, up by 11.9% from a year earlier [Aena added that the integration of Britain’s Luton Airport also helped this year’s earnings-Ed].

 

The total income of Aena rose to €1.597.7m ($1.765.3m) in the first semester of 2015, up by +12.0% over the same period in 2014. Income from the commercial area (both on and off terminal) accounted for 25.9% of the total for the first semester of 2015, having maintained its percentage share of 25.5% in the same period in 2014. This data reflects the consolidation of Luton. Excluding the effects of Luton, total revenues would have grown by 5.8%.

 

 

Aena adds that the effect on commercial income of its new long-term contracts (notably the World Duty Free Group contract), the expansion and remodelling of areas intended for commercial activity and the design of a new business model for integrated car park management, have driven the growth in commercial income from services operations on- and off-terminal to €49.6m (+13.6%).

 

It said that most lines of business ‘have shown a significant increase over the previous year’, with the most important variation noted in duty free stores, +38.8% to +€30.1m ($33.1m).

 

As for other shops, Aena said its income rose by +19.0% to plus-€5.8m). It added: “During the first semester of 2015, the Store Business Line accounted for 11.1% of the income from sales activity in the terminal, with a growth of 19.0%.

 

 

“[This was] mainly due to the improvement in layout, the addition of new areas, the improved economic conditions of the contracts and the opening of Luxury and Accessible Luxury stores, the implementation of which was completed in 2014.

 

“During this first semester, it is worth mentioning the renewed commercial offering of the 17 stores in T1 of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport, with significant improvements in the financial terms of the contracts; the renovation of six stores in the Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport; the renovation of the commercial offering in the airport of Seville or the opening of new Gap stores in the airports of Ibiza, Tenerife Sur and Gran Canaria, a pioneering brand in Spain, via our airports.”