Aena increases its profit through September, driven by flight demand

BarcelonaAena, the airport operator, is taking advantage of the current strong demand for flights. The company closed the first nine months of the year with a net profit of €1.579 billion, an 8.9% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of €2.8827 billion rose by 8.2%. Aena's network handled a total of 294 million passengers through September, including its operations in Brazil and at London Luton Airport. This traffic volume represented a 4.1% increase year-on-year. At Aena's airports in Spain, the increase was 3.9%, reaching 247.1 million passengers. Total consolidated revenue increased by 8.8% to €4.7852 billion. Aeronautical revenues grew by 5.5% to €2,556.2 million. Commercial revenues, supported by growth in sales from commercial activities, increased by 10.8% to €1,466.1 million. Aena's revenue rose to €4,785 million, 8.8% higher than in the first nine quarters of last year.

The group's consolidated net financial debt stood at €5,127 million, compared to €5,498 million in 2024, resulting in a net financial debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.37 times for the consolidated group, below the target of 1.5.

Defense of the governance model

Aena reaffirms its centralized governance for Barcelona Airport and the rest of the airport network. "The constitutional framework and the shareholder structure provide us with strong protection," stated its Chairman and CEO, Mauricio Lucena. He maintains the same position he expressed when one of its main shareholders, TCI Fund, voiced concerns about proposed changes to the model being requested by some political parties. "I see it as impossible to change anything," he emphasized. "Preserving this model is particularly important given that we have announced a very high volume of investment," he added, referring to the €13 billion it plans to disburse in the coming years, "bonds for Aena and the country." He even went so far as to paraphrase former European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi, repeating his "whatever it takes" to say that they will do whatever is necessary to defend it.