Aena S.M.E., S.A. (AENA) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

February 26, 2020

Bolsa de Madrid ES Industrials Transportation Infrastructure earnings 80 min

Earnings Call Speaker Segments

Operator

operator
#1

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the Aena 2019 Annual Results Presentation. [Operator Instructions] I must advise you that this conference is being recorded today on Wednesday, the 26th of February 2020. I would now like to turn the conference over to your speaker today, Emilio Rotondo. Please go ahead.

Emilio Rotondo

executive
#2

Hi. Good morning to everybody, and welcome again to Aena's Full Year '19 Results Presentation. The presentation will be led by Aena's Chairman, Mr. Lucena; and the CFO, José Leo. Now I hand the floor to Mr. Lucena.

Maurici Betriu

executive
#3

Hello, everybody. Good morning, and thank you, first of all, for attending our presentation. I will go to Slide #4. Regarding passenger traffic in 2019, passenger traffic for the whole network of Spain, and including also Luton Airport, reached more than 293 million passengers. And if we divide this total amount into 2 categories, I would say that in the airports of the Spanish network, the increase came to 4.4%, which means more than 275 million passengers. And concerning Luton Airport, traffic grew by 8.6%. If we go to the financial translation of this traffic activity, total consolidated revenues increased to more than EUR 4.5 billion, which represents an increase of more than 4.2% compared to 2018. And moreover, the EBITDA of the period totals more than EUR 2.7 billion, which means -- which signifies an increase of 4.1% compared to 2018. And this results in a margin of 61.4%, which is very close to the previous 2018, 61.5%. Consolidated net profit reached more than EUR 1.4 billion, which represents an increase of 8.6%. And this reflects, I would underline 3 -- at least 3 factors. This reflects the positive trend in the business, which is the most important factor of all. Secondly, the decrease in financial costs. And thirdly, the increase in corporate income tax. Operating cash flow for its part, increased by 8.6%, up to more than EUR 2.1 billion. And accounting net financial debt remained practically stable in nominal terms at EUR 6.67 billion, which means that the consolidated group's ratio of net financial debt-to-EBITDA has been reduced from the previous 2018, 2.5x, to the current or at the end of 2019, 2.3x ratio. Finally, as you know, because we committed this information to the market yesterday, you know that we have proposed to the ordinary general shareholders' meeting of Aena, the distribution of a gross dividend of EUR 7.58 per share. And this dividend, which you know implies distributing 80% of the net profit of the firm, represents a 9.4% growth compared to 2018. On the other hand, and this -- we have made a great effort to clarify why we are increasing the estimate for 2020 traffic to 1.9% compared to the previous 1.1%. I must say, I want to underline, but we can come to this issue later on during the Q&A. I want to underline that this forecast does not include -- does not envisage a more significant impact of the coronavirus, because you know that, of course, the -- at least the perception has changed in Europe since the moment that we knew that there was an affection of this virus in Italy, and afterwards, in Spain. So we need a little bit of time to estimate the economic impact. I'm sure that we are not the only company that needs to review the -- or at least to assess the impact. But we wanted to be very honest, and we have just taken into account for this increase to 1.9% of the traffic growth. We have taken into account the program -- I mean, the data that the airlines have conveyed to us. And also, the data that we already know has been -- has taken place in January. But we can come later to this issue. Thank you.

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#4

Okay. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. We will take a look now at Slide #6 to discuss traffic data. The passenger traffic in the Spanish network grew 4.4% in 2019. Clearly, as the year was evolving, we were reviewing our guidance and recognizing that the trend was more positive than we initially expected. You are already well aware of that. I think that all in all, has been a good year. The traffic growth has been very healthy. Against the background of a number of challenges, including part of the traffic that used to come to Spain for holidaying was now being attracted by other destinations as well as the Thomas Cook Deniz, a number of challenges in the touristic destinations, namely the Canary Islands. But overall, a very positive year with 2 main airports in the network, Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat growing very, very healthily, 6.6% and 5%, respectively. And also, the growth in those particular airports coming from the international segment have been growing at very attractive rates, 7.3% and 5.4%, respectively. It's clear that this has been a year where the domestic traffic growth was higher than the international one. But still, overall, the international segment has been performing really well. And I want to point out the fact that the traffic with the U.K., which is, as you all know, our main origin and destination traffic outside Spain has ultimately ended up growing, showing a positive trend despite the fact that there is a background of concerns and potential risks associated to the Brexit. Moving on to Slide #7. I think all the business lines performed well in a very balanced way. Clearly, it's not a surprise that the commercial side of the business tends to perform better and is this year, delivering year-on-year growth in EBITDA of 9.5% whilst the aeronautical business, is showing a relatively modest growth in EBITDA of 0.7%. But that's the natural and expected result of the traffic evolution, combined with the tariff evolution, the trend in tariffs. On top of that, we -- I would like to highlight the evolution of the international business where the EBITDA grew 17.9% year-on-year. Definitely, the driver -- the driving force behind this is Luton. We will comment on that in a minute. The real estate services business is showing a little bit of maybe confusion or slightly unexpected trend with revenues growing, but also EBITDA going down. I always emphasize that this is the legacy traditional real estate service business that we have been providing to a number of players in the airport for ages already. In the case, the business is growing. But at the same time, we have a one-off this year that Emilio will probably comment on a little bit in more detail later, that led us to provide for an insolvency or a bad debt situation. That's the reason why the expenses went up very significantly. And also, the EBITDA ended up going down, but that's a very particular one-off situation. Going on to the Slide #8. The commercial business from the revenue standpoint, keeps performing really well. I want to highlight that whether the revenues are coming from underlying performance trends in the business or whether the revenues are coming from the minimum guarantee arrangements, they are revenues and they are cash, and they are very welcome in any case. Everything combined, for a number of years, will carry on delivering revenue growth in excess of the passenger growth. And once again, this year, our average commercial revenue per passenger grows 3.9% overall. I have to say that there is an impact of the IFRS 16 there. But even if we take that out, the revenue per passenger growth is still healthy, 2.9%. So one more year, the commercial revenue delivers a good performance, exceeds the growth experienced by the underlying traffic. We are providing there information, as usual, about the impact of the minimum guarantee rents as a percentage of the revenue of those business lines with which contracts are already provide for that kind of minimum guarantee schemes. Going on to Slide #9, international shareholdings. I think, overall, all the international ventures where we have an interest performed really well. You can see that traffic growth is the norm across the board. And particularly, in Luton, the growth is healthy, 8.6%. But I have to say, it's also coming to an end for a while because we have a statutory limitation. Not an operational limitation, but the statutory limitation at 18 million passengers per year. We are working hard to get permission to exceed that. We have already submitted applications to get approval for that. But the passenger is now -- or sorry, the passenger number at Luton is now reaching the limit. The business this year delivered a very healthy revenue growth, 12.7%. And also, even much more attractive EBITDA growth, 25.5%. I have to say, that's in pounds, so that's the underlying business. This year, this is pretty similar to the growth in euros. So all in all, a very good performance by our international ventures. And I hand you over to Emilio Rotondo now.

Emilio Rotondo

executive
#5

Yes. Now we move into Slide #11, in which we go through the financial results. Most of them in that location have been highlighted by both the Chairman and the CFO. But let me go again highlighting that the analytical revenue was up by 1.7%, reaching EUR 2.9 billion, and commercial revenue grew by 7.7%, reaching almost EUR 1.3 billion. In terms of operating expenses, they grew by 6%. We will go on them in the next slides. EBITDA ended in EUR 2.8 billion with a growth of 4.1%, reaching a margin of 61.4%. And net profit reached $1.4 billion, up by 8.6%. In terms of cash flow, operating cash flow increased by almost 9% to EUR 2.1 billion. And the consolidated net financial debt closed at EUR 6.7 billion, with the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio lowering from 2.5x of last year to 2.3x at the end of 2019. In terms of investments, highlight that the CapEx paid out in the period amounted EUR 1 billion, which included the EUR 500 million invested in Brazil. On Slide 12, some explanations on the financial results highlight that the revenue from minimum annual guaranteed rents rose to EUR 144 million, representing 17.8% of the revenues of those business lines that have contracts of this type. In terms of staff costs, increased by 7.7%, EUR 32 million, as a result of the salary revision; additional hiring between 2018 and '19 of almost 350 people; the impact of employees category revision for almost EUR 3 million; and the reversal in 2019 of a provision created in 2017. In terms of the impact of the IFRS 16 in World Duty Free, that has already been mentioned by José. Just mention that excluding this effect, the revenues from Dufry would amount EUR 333 million with an increase of almost EUR 15 million or 4.6%, and the commercial revenue per passenger would have reached EUR 1.21 per passenger. And also, in terms of commercial revenue per passengers for all the commercial lines would have ended in EUR 4.47 per passenger, growing by 2.9%. If we move to Slide 13. I will focus on other operating expenses line. The rest have been already mentioned and highlighted that this OpEx line grew by 6.6%, almost EUR 67 million, mainly due of new contracts at the airports in terms of private security service with a growth of almost EUR 24 million in expenses; the service for passengers with reduced mobility with a growth of EUR 5 million and new cleaning services with a growth of EUR 5 million. Also highlight the increase in electricity costs by almost EUR 10 million. The cost of the services in the VIP lounges managed by Aena by EUR 4 million, both due to the increase in the number of users and also the new contracts initiated during the year. Maintenance expenses, with a growth of EUR 3.5 million, and professional services, with a growth of EUR 2.3 million. In terms of the impairment and net gain or loss of fixed assets, they decreased by EUR 53 million, mainly due because last year, we had a recognition of the impairment of EUR 46 million corresponding to Murcia San Javier Airport that, obviously, have not come in 2019. If we go down through the P&L. We now move to the financial expenses that they fell by EUR 10.5 million, 7.7%, mainly due to the reduction in interest on the debt, both because of the reduction of the rates and also the volume of debt. The -- and also affecting the financial line, we have the reclassification and the impact of the IFRS 16, with an impact of EUR 12.1 million, with no effect on cash. And also, the impact of the exchange rate hedging instrument expenses contracted to hedge the -- or to cover the exposure to the Brazilian real in the Brazilian concession payments, that has had an impact of EUR 6.3 million. Finally, on the income tax, that amounted EUR 437 million. The effective rate for the period was 23.2%, slightly lower than last year. If we move into the cash flows, Slide #14. Just highlight the cash flows from operating activities reached EUR 2.1 billion, and combined with the reduction of the cash at the end of the year to EUR 240 million made possible to not only finance the CapEx program of almost EUR 1 billion already mentioned. That includes also the Brazilian investment, but also to pay the dividends paid -- that haven't been paid during 2019 of EUR 1 billion. Let me highlight also that the consolidated net debt ended in EUR 6.7 billion, with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of just 2.3x. Now we move to Slide #15. We wanted also to make some, let's say, highlight, so to go a little bit deeper on our Brazilian assets that we had -- we were awarded back in March 2019. This first, Slide #16, just reflects the main characteristics of the assets and the concession. This information was published back in 1Q '19 results. I just wanted to highlight that although the concession was awarded in March and the contract was signed in October, the full operation of the 6 airports and thus, the consolidation of revenues and expenses, have not started until this first quarter 2020. The smaller airports started in February, and Recife, which is the largest one, would not be operated by Aena until the 3rd of March. Slide 17. As we have been mentioning also last year, we see Brazil as a very interesting country. Regarding the most interesting macro variables affecting our industry and our airports, which are catchment areas, economic growth, tourism, and also the traffic performance with the approval to fly of -- well, to do domestic flights by foreign airlines. If we move to Slide 18. We highlight here the traffic and also our view for 2020. In terms of traffic, as you have seen the traffic of 2019 in comparison with 2018, went down by 1.6%. The change is mainly explained by the fact that in May 2019, Avianca suspended its operations. If we go to 2018, the weight of the -- of Avianca in the [ surplus ] was 19% of the traffic. But also analyzing what has happened throughout 2019, we see that after an initial stage between June and September of very high impact and a reduction in traffic due in this suspension of Avianca, the traffic began to recover in October as also other airlines began to absorb that traffic -- those flights. In terms of our view for 2020, we have the data from OAG for 2020 that shows a 5.4% growth in seats, okay? And we also have our marketing initiatives, speaking with different airlines with new strategies already planned in international traffic that have been highlighted in this slide. Going to our view of 2020. We want to remark several, I think, important things for 2020. First of all, that our estimated passenger traffic will be 14.1 million passengers. That's a growth of 2.4 -- sorry, 2.7% versus 2019. And this is considering full year traffic, not the -- I have mentioned that the different -- or the sequence of the different dates of being operated airports by Aena. So this year, our basic operational objectives would be the taking control of the operations, consolidation and stabilization of the airports. And it's important to note that the EBITDA margin would be affected, first of all, by the schedule of the start of airport operation, as I already mentioned, the start-up costs and also certain personnel costs and other OpEx that would affect and will be accounted for the full year, even though the airports have not been operated until the end of the first quarter. Now I hand over the floor to Mr. Leo to address the 2020 forecast.

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#6

Thank you, Emilio. We are providing the 2020 forecast, our best estimate I would say, literally, 48 hours ago. I know many of you can be thinking what is the impact of coronavirus in this estimate, and frankly, is none. We will discuss that in a minute. We -- our estimate of the passenger traffic for the Spanish network for 2020 shows a 1.9% growth at this moment. That is clearly better than the 1.1% guidance we provided some months ago. The reason for that is a combination of things. First of all, the winter season is going better, and I would say, much better than we expected. It's true that the comments we have made a number of times about some of our key customers, some of our key clients pulling capacity still remain valid. But the aircraft are traveling fuller. So the load factors are higher than we expected. I know that type of comment has been also made by some of the key low-cost carriers recently. And that's the fact. Secondly, as we move forward, we have a little bit more positive view of the summer. Also, on the back of that load factors performance rather than based on any extra capacity being brought by -- being brought about by the carriers. So that was our technical judgment. Until that I will put together the budget, we put together the forecast we are sharing with you today based on that data. Over the last 3 days, the coronavirus outbreak is clearly introducing a huge amount of uncertainty. But frankly, we didn't know 3 days ago, and we still don't know what impact that can, let's say, end up producing in the industry globally, particularly in the European traffic, which is the most relevant one for us. Because clearly, some of the carriers were discontinuing some of the routes with Asian countries, with China, but we were affected very little by that for various reasons, the size of that business for us is still relatively modest. But if the coronavirus problem expands to Europe, which seems to be the case, to be perfectly honest, we don't know what the impact will be. So there is no consideration paid at that crisis in these numbers. And that's the reality. So I'm sure you will have an interest in knowing more about it, but I want to be very upfront on that. From that passenger number estimate, we are building our 2020 forecast, which is showing, first of all, a growth in revenue of 4%. It's not surprising that the [ airport ] revenues are going to grow modestly, with 1.9% growth in traffic and EUR 1.44 billion decrease in airport charges, you can very quickly realize that the airport revenues will not grow very significantly. But the commercial revenue will continue growing, well, using what I like, healthily, really healthily, because 6% growth and 4% growth on a per passenger basis, obviously, once again subject to coronavirus, is a very good performance. But for the same token, we are showing growth in operating costs, like-for-like, of 7%, with particular increases focusing on staff costs and other operating expenses. We will be happy to share with you details about that later on in the call. And indeed, over the coming days, for those who call us and want to know more in detail. But suffice to say that this business has been growing in revenues and lagging a little bit behind in terms of cost growth in a situation where we need some more investment. Let me call investment to this operating cost growth, and that's for a number of reasons. Because the costs behind that are, first of all, the staff. We are in need of staff in certain areas, operational areas to start with, commercial areas. We are in need of talent and resources. You cannot run forever a business on the back of a very, very slim cost structure, which is -- I didn't mean by that, that we are losing our mind or becoming inefficient. It's the other way around. I think our gross -- our margins will continue to be very attractive and best-in-class. But we need to invest, and we are investing in a number of areas, operational areas, in terms of quality, in terms of cleaning, in terms of security, in terms of a number of services that are in demand of better, let's say, quality levels. Part of that was already taking place in 2019. But you will realize that not all, because we ended up delivering a 2019 cost base that was below the initial expectation. So there is a bit of a, let's say, delay in the way we are implementing our plans. But there is also growth in costs driven by the need to expand the same strategy that we have in place to make sure that the business delivers, not in the coming year, but the years to come. And also because we are approaching regulatory discussion very, very soon. There is no point in running the business with lack of resources when, on the other hand, you have the regulator cost factors of DORA 1 or the related costs levels in DORA 1 not reached yet. That's the -- I want to say that we will be happy to share with you some more detail today or in days to come, but this is the underlying message. I have to say, there is also investment, let me call it that way, in terms of costs associated with broader strategic objectives. What I mean by that is not only costs linked to the operation, but also costs linked to a number of initiatives, like the digitalization of the business; like the international expansion; like the need to invest in sustainability initiatives; like the need to really make a case for Aena being a leader in years to come, not only from the point of view of the efficiency of the business and the operational responsibility, but also in terms of broader social responsibility and a broader innovation agenda. Once again, we will be happy to share with you some of the detail. So all in all, that leads us to an EBITDA of 1% overall at consolidated level, growth of 1% and net profit, basically flat. But that means that the dividend per share for the year to come will be in line with the current year's one. So -- and that's the end, is my understanding. That's the end of the presentation. So we will now open the floor to the Q&A. Thank you.

Operator

operator
#7

[Operator Instructions] And the first question today comes from the line of Nicolò Pessina of Mediobanca.

Nicolò Pessina

analyst
#8

I have 3 questions. So the first one, obviously, on the coronavirus. Have you seen any decrease of passengers ever since the virus has spread in Europe last week? And is there anything that Aena can do in the short-term to mitigate the impact on profitability? Also, always on the virus, can the agreements for the minimum guaranteed revenues be renegotiated or suspended in case of a prolonged impact on traffic? Second question on the traffic guidance. You mentioned higher visibility on the summer season as a driver to raise the guidance. So I wonder if we could have some more details on this? And in particular, is it just a matter of load factor or also of capacity? And last question, on the net working capital for 2019. I see a negative impact on cash generation. Is there any specific issue behind this? Anything in particular that happened there? And what should we expect going forward?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#9

Okay. In terms of the coronavirus, frankly, we know very little so far about potential impact. It's clear that the situation is really fluid. There are changes every day. We have to be very upfront and very honest in recognizing that the fact that countries like Italy or indeed, Spain marginally, if you like, but with some cases already being publicized is -- means that the problem is getting closer. It is closing in, and that's a matter of concern. But we know nothing. We know no more than you or anyone else that follows the media. In Spain, clearly, we do whatever is required to do from the health authorities' point of view. But there is no such a thing as a state of alarm or people making decisions about not flying. But once again, the situation is fluid, that can change in a matter of days. So I'm afraid I cannot add anything really meaningful. How can we mitigate that? Well, first of all, I don't want to make prophesies. But my experience is that these kind of things, if they get sorted at the point in time over the coming months and the -- any potential reduction in traffic is -- tends to recover very quickly, very dramatically. That's the case with a number of crises we have in the past in terms of pandemics as well as in terms of well, terror attacks or things like that, if you like, situations which are not driven by underlying macroeconomic conditions. So if that's the case, obviously, any mitigation will be short-lived. Mitigation would mean just reducing the number of resources you have on the ground, reducing the number of shifts do you need, from security officers or cleaners or -- in summary, trying to manage your operating cost down. But you know well that, that's always a marginal type of action. You can never, let's say, cut, drastically, your resources because that will -- it's not possible. So yes, we will try and mitigate any potential impact of a decline in traffic that this -- provided that decline is meaningful and is sizable. But I cannot quantify how much that will help to mitigate the potential impact. But once again, we know nothing. We simply follow the events and time will tell. In terms of the minimum [ royalties ], clearly, the contractual arrangements are there to stay. They are not there to be, let's say, renegotiated, let's say, overnight. And my hope and my expectation is that if there is a crisis, coronavirus crisis, hopefully, that will be, if there is -- once again, I don't know, hopefully, that can be impacting the business for a number of weeks or months, that's the experience of the past with similar situations. In that case, no way you can renegotiate anything. If the impact is very prolonged, I'm sure we will have a number of people looking into that, but we will also be very firm because we have -- our contractual arrangements are based on very, very prescriptive public, purchased or public procurement rules in Spain as we are still 51% owned by government. But this -- so it will be around something we will be contemplating, if you like, easily. But then, in terms of summer visibility. Well, summer visibility in the sense that there is already information that Emilio can provide now on the summer season capacity declaration, initial boost. But it's not that this is growing, but it's pretty flat. But on the back of -- that will be pretty flat, but not -- but potentially, the -- well, potentially, we believe the load factors will be much -- will be higher than the original ones, and we think that the final outcome, in terms of passenger numbers in, terms of flows, will be better than the original ones in our 1.1% estimate that the summer looked well, frankly, not great. And now we are taking a much more positive view of the summer. We can be wrong. I don't know. But once again, we could be wrong with the 1.1%, with the 1.9%. But this is our best view of the situation today.

Emilio Rotondo

executive
#10

Yes. In terms of the summer season and our view, first of all, is that we have a higher visibility in terms of data coming from the -- well, from the AECFA and from OAG. But also, and very in line to what José was mentioning, is that, well, that the bookings that we are seeing and the [ pool ] has been lower than what we have seen during last summer season. And also that what we are seeing in terms of the recovery of the traffic on the Canary Islands is better than what we were envisaging or seeing when we first focus -- when we first published our guidance on this 1.1% growth for 2020. Maybe I can move into your fourth question. Okay, in terms of the working capital, maybe what -- and I -- maybe your -- what you are seeing is the presentation and the change -- that the changes in the working capital have moved from minus EUR 180 million to minus EUR 114 million. But I think if you go to -- you move to our annual accounts, you have a more detailed information, you will see that the main change has come from the trade and other receivables that has moved from minus EUR 115 million to minus EUR 64 million. And this has been mainly due to the change in the payment method by one of our -- quite a big airline during the year. But the rest of the lines are more or less in line with any larger move versus last year.

Nicolò Pessina

analyst
#11

So this is a one-off change?

Emilio Rotondo

executive
#12

Yes.

Nicolò Pessina

analyst
#13

From your mutual supplier?

Emilio Rotondo

executive
#14

Yes.

Operator

operator
#15

Your next question today comes from the line of Eric Luo of JPMorgan.

Eric Luo

analyst
#16

Three please, if I may. On the Brazilian airports, could you please give us a more explicit figure for what the revenues and EBITDA guidance is for those airports in 2020? We understand that the 2020 guidance has built in the contribution from those airports, but could we get a more explicit understanding of that revenue and EBITDA impact from that acquisition? And then number two on CapEx. In terms of Capex, could you provide us a sense of what to expect for 2020? I understand that in 2019, there was a large outlay of CapEx for the Brazilian airports, but what level of CapEx we -- should we assume for 2020? And then lastly, for OpEx, could you give us a sense of how much that -- the outlook for a 7% like-for-like increase in OpEx is driven by the previously announced but delayed implementation of those contracts and how much of this increase is new?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#17

Okay. I will answer the first question on the Brazilian airports. Well, the Brazilian airport, I have to say that -- well, I will start by sharing with you some of the figures. The Brazilian airports, our estimate of revenues for the whole year, and as Emilio mentioned before, we are just starting to take responsibility of the operation. And actually for Recife, which is the main airport by far, we will only be operating that from the 3rd of March. So I'm talking about the full year estimate, of which we will take in our consolidated accounts of 2020 roughly 3/4 of that. That will be something in the region of BRL 450 million or Brazilian real, which, well, I think currently the euro-real exchange rate is something in the region of BRL 4.7, BRL 4.8 for every euro. We estimate the EBITDA to be around BRL 115 million. Once again on a full year basis, BRL 115 million, which, obviously, if you -- you have to apply, once again, the same euro-real rate. I have to say that, obviously, this is the first year. This is an operation which clearly is immaterial. We believe the Aena factor will make a big difference. We have already put together the -- a very good team of people with a very good knowledge of the operational and commercial aspects of the business. We feel that we'll make a big difference over the coming years, both in terms of operations, cost efficiencies as well as in terms of commercial revenue generation. On top of that, we -- you -- I'm sure you know, we are not -- the business is not for the time being geared, it's not leveraged. So it's funded 100% by equity. And of course over the coming years, well, very, very soon, we will start working on potentially leveraging the business, and that will also bring about a reduction in our exposure. So with -- it's early days. It's the first year we are believers in the long-term attractiveness of this country and this airport. It is one of those countries where, very recently, the licenses to operate domestic traffic as well as international traffic, indeed, by following all the carriers have been approved. So we think that will be a good business. But obviously, 2020 is not representative of that or what this business can be hopefully, very, very shortly. So that's -- I don't know if I'm missing something but I think I answered all your questions, if I'm not wrong. And I hand you over to Emilio.

Emilio Rotondo

executive
#18

Yes. In terms of CapEx, our estimate for next year would be that the -- within the Spanish airports network, the investment would be around EUR 680 million. In terms of Brazil, we have a committed investment of roughly, I think, it's EUR 200 million. But I don't think that any significant CapEx would get into 2020, it would be more in 2021. And finally, we have also a minor CapEx in Luton, roughly EUR 17 million. And I would ask you to repeat the third question, I think was related on OpEx, but I...

Eric Luo

analyst
#19

Yes. Just on OpEx, it was to get a sense of that 7% increase like-for-like. How much of that is what we previously knew about contract renegotiations for cleaning contracts on? And how much is that new? Because I understand previously it was the previous implementations were delayed for 2020, so I assume some of that will come in into this outlook, but some of that I guess might be new. How much of it is new and how much is it from the delayed contracts previously?

Emilio Rotondo

executive
#20

Yes. Okay. In fact, this question would affect, well, OpEx of 2019 and also our forecast for 2020. In fact, we have had the delay in the cleaning and baggage trolleys contract, okay, that -- well, we will have the -- we don't have the full impact in 2019 and we'll have in 2020, okay? And we also have new contracts coming in, in 2020. We have the -- also mainly the maintenance contract. That instead of getting to 2019 will come in, in 2020. This would be the 2 larger contracts affecting both years in 2019 and 2020. Also, if we move into 2020, we'll also have the increase in OpEx in security and PMR also.

Operator

operator
#21

Your next question today comes from the line of Cristian Nedelcu of UBS.

Cristian Nedelcu

analyst
#22

Maybe the first one, could you give us a bit more color on your liquidity position? I believe from your disclosure, you have a cash and cash equivalent of EUR 240 million at the year-end and another EUR 410 million of your RCF still available. Are there any other instruments of liquidity in there? I'm just trying to better understand the sort of the cash outflows in the first half related to CapEx dividend as well as to your available liquidity and the usual operating cash you're generating and stress test that in a declining traffic scenario for Q2. And secondly, more of a midterm question in terms of the CapEx plan for the next DORA. I appreciate you haven't finalized your decisions there. But could you give us any color in terms of your current view, if that CapEx is likely to be front-loaded in the first years of the DORA or more back-end loaded? Or any rough indication of how much retail space you believe you will add with the new terminals in Barcelona and Madrid?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#23

Okay. Well, in terms of the liquidity position, we have, of course, the -- as you mentioned, the revolving facility. So the one that you notice we are using partially, which is EUR 800 million. We also very recently, let's say, implemented euro commercial paper program, which -- with a limit of EUR 900 million. The -- actually, the prospectus is available in our website. On top of that -- well, that's, if you like, short-term liquidity instruments. On top of that, we have some longer-term committed facilities -- or [ loan ] facilities, loans that we may decide to use. Actually, one of those which was not reflected in the year-end accounts is EUR 115 million loan that -- long term, that we ended up making use of it in January. And that's described in our accounts, somewhere in our accounts. But obviously, it was not part of the 31st of December 2019 position. We also have available some other, which is also described in our accounts, EUR 400 million of European Investment Bank loan available to make use of it over the coming years, if we think that's appropriate. So we have -- obviously, from the liquidity standpoint, we are well equipped. And so far, we haven't. As you know, we haven't made any decision to be active in the capital markets, debt capital markets, because we don't -- we think we don't need -- structurally, we don't need that kind of financing. Unless over the coming months or years our investment programs, both in terms of tangible assets or potential acquisitions of businesses, may require us to do so. And that timing will be obviously active in the debt capital markets. But for the time being, we have a strong liquidity position. I hope my description already help you to see that.

Cristian Nedelcu

analyst
#24

Yes. Definitely.

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#25

In terms of the DORA 2, well, it's early days. So once again, it's very, very difficult to say with precision. But we are planning to roughly double the size of the investment. So you can think, well, something well in the region of EUR 5 billion or slightly more than EUR 5 billion investment. That can go up or down by some couple of hundreds or a few hundred obviously, because it's still very early days. Normally, I would love to say that's evenly distributed year-by-year because that will make my job easier. But normally, these things always happen in a way that tend to be a little bit backloaded. Because the large projects require -- although we are already working on them from the project standpoint, they will normally require some sort of, let's say, start-ups and, let's say, initiation phases that normally are a little bit more demanding. And then by the time you are able to start working on-site is, well, you have already well in the DORA 2 period. So normally, as it happened in DORA 1, that will be slightly backloaded. And then you made the third question maybe and...

Cristian Nedelcu

analyst
#26

Is there may be a rough indication of the sort of incremental retail space that comes together with the new terminals?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#27

If you bear with me, we can be more precise off-line because, frankly, at this moment in time, I don't have the detailed information in hand. But we will be more than pleased to provide whatever we can provide with some degree of confidence because it's still early days. Once again, let's say off-line if you call us and indeed if any of your colleagues call us.

Operator

operator
#28

Our next question today comes from the line of Jenny Ping of Citi.

Jenny Ping

analyst
#29

Firstly, just on the aerospace -- sorry, the aeronautical business stand-alone. When you look at the OpEx increases that you've seen in 2019 and 2020, what is the equivalent regulated OpEx versus ATU that you're seeing? So how does it compare to the EUR 2.71 that we are seeing in the current regulatory period? My second question is on Luton. You talk about the statutory limitation in terms of number of passengers and application has already gone in to address this. Can you talk a little bit more in terms of the application process? Is that with the CAA, the time line for approval and when we are likely to hear more on this -- on the potential lifting of that statutory cap? And then lastly, just going back to Brazil for the time being. If I remember correctly, during the bidding process, the Brazilian government had talked about a CapEx of BRL 780 million -- just under BRL 800 million over 5 years as the package for the northeastern block of airports. And I was just wondering why that number has now gone up compared to what the government had talked about as a potential size of CapEx and also, obviously, the duration of that spend is much shorter than the 5 years. So any clarity or color you can provide on that would be great.

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#30

Sorry, Jenny, I didn't quite understand your first question. Do you mean OpEx per ATU for DORA 2? Or am I wrong?

Jenny Ping

analyst
#31

For the aeronautical business. So in your -- if you go back to your Capital Markets Day, one of the charts you had shown at the time is the regulated cost evolution had come down and you expect that to go back up. And I just wondered where you are compared to the EUR 2.6 that's allowed in the current DORA?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#32

Okay. Well, I can tell you we are still below. In 2020, we will still be below the current...

Jenny Ping

analyst
#33

Can you say how far below?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#34

Yes. Well, not at this moment. But we can provide that information if you call us off-line, and indeed to anyone that is interested. But I don't have this information handy, now. But below, still below. Luton, well, this -- my understanding of the -- frankly, I'm not involved in the day-to-day of Luton, but I can share with you some key points. First of all, the statutory application -- well, the statutory -- sorry, the application to remove or to change the limit, in my understanding, is fully managed by some local authorities, planning authorities linked to the council. So nothing to do with national authorities or indeed the CAA. Well, the CAA definitely is not the case. And the process, well, it will take time. I don't know. Normally, these things take some, and then some, I'm hopeful -- well, maybe a good year or something like that. At the same time, we are discussing with the council some more ambitious plans that -- obviously, that's a different story and it's linked to other potential additional investment and in exchange for that, extension of the concession period. So that's as much as I can share with you. So I know nothing else. But definitely, it's managed at a local level. And finally, the Brazil question will be answered by Emilio. Please?

Emilio Rotondo

executive
#35

Yes. Jenny, not sure what -- or the data you had from what source. What -- initially what we had and what we also published in first quarter results in [ Laudamotion ] on Brazil is that the investment that the government, let's say, proposed for the concession was around BRL 2.2 billion for the 30-year concession, of which around -- between 25% to 30% was mandatory. So that's the reason why if you go to our presentation of -- today's presentation, what we have here is this BRL 940 million investment to be done in 36 months. If I remember correctly, the government was speaking of between 36 to 48 months. So it was always in the first years. And if I remember correctly, below those 5 years because what is -- is the first phase that we're obliged to this mandatory CapEx and it's quite -- the period they allow you maybe initially was considered 5 years. But in our case, we are focusing on 36 months.

Operator

operator
#36

Our next question today comes from the line of Stephanie D'Ath of Royal Bank of Canada.

Stephanie D'Ath

analyst
#37

Yes. The first one is on sensitivity to traffic. So if you were to assume traffic was not growing 1.9%, but maybe 1% less, what would be the impact on your EBITDA guidance, please? My second question is regarding operating expenses. You said that you could adjust them a little bit downwards in case of traffic slowdown as a result of the coronavirus. Could you maybe be a bit more specific? And what percentage of your OpEx is fixed, broadly speaking, versus variable? And then finally, on commercial, which you're forecasting to grow 6% in 2020 and passenger up 1.9% million, how much of that is driven by minimum annual guarantee and how much is linked to traffic risk? Again, maybe if traffic was not growing 1.9%, but just 1%, by how much would that number come down?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#38

Sorry, I'm afraid the 3 questions you are making, we may need you to the wait and we will provide the detailed information because I don't want to -- clearly, the 1% sensitivity is relatively easy to calculate. But let us, well, answer to you off-line. In terms fixed and variable, clearly, there is a huge component of fixed element because you cannot remove the resources of the main services we are provided by the different suppliers. Let's say, proportionally, that's impossible. So there is an element of -- a very significant one that, once again, I can provide you with more detail off-line. And finally, I think 3 out of 3, the commercial element, I have to say definitely the next year evolution is most likely to be driven by [ no ] guarantees. But there are businesses which are adding underlying revenues very significantly, like VIP lounges, like car parks, like -- all of them are growing. The specific proportion of extra revenue per passenger coming from each of them will probably be provided more with more certainty off-line, if that's okay.

Operator

operator
#39

Your next question today comes from the line of Andrew Lobbenberg of HSBC.

Andrew Lobbenberg

analyst
#40

I'm quite keen to follow-up on just a couple of those last ones, perhaps in another way. I mean you're guiding to commercial revenue per [ pax ] up 4%. We were at 2.9% this year. Is there a mix effect that you're constructive about? Or are you going to pull back to the minimum guarantee effect? Or is there much more space coming in? On Luton, you're sounding a bit uncertain about the time line of getting authorization for more passengers. So for the next year or potentially 2, should we be working on the basis that the traffic does not grow there? Is that a sensible thing to do? And then can you just talk to us about how you're seeing the likely implementation of Air Europa into Iberia? How do you see that impacting the development for the Barajas operation?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#41

Okay. In terms of the commercial revenue growth for the next year, I think, once again, Andrew, as I answered before, is difficult to quantify. Definitely, it's not a matter of any sizable extra space being available. It's a combination of improvements in max, in minimum guarantees, both in the Duty Free business and other businesses. It's also that in some cases, like Barcelona, that will be the year where there will be a full deployment of the new commercial offer, including food and beverage. It's definitely the VIP services overall where we are seeing increasing penetration rates. We are opening new lounges. We are providing better service. We are increasing our rates to those who are interested in our, let's say, commercial arrangements. We are also starting to increase fast-track and fast-lane and services. It is car parks. So it's a combination of things, but not really any extra square footage being available, significant if you like. Well, with regard to the second point, for the next year, definitely, you have to model anything about Luton based on the current EUR 80 million cap. That's for sure. For 2021, I don't know, time will tell you. We look forward to seeing that clarifying as soon as possible. Finally -- sorry, can you make the question...

Andrew Lobbenberg

analyst
#42

How are you thinking about the consequences of the combination of the Air Europa with Iberia, right? It's not gone through Competition Authority, but -- yes.

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#43

Yes. No, well -- clearly, for us, strategically it's very positive. We think that Iberia reinforcing -- or IAG overall reinforcing the role of the Madrid Barajas airport, and indeed the Spanish network, through that combination of businesses will be positive between Iberia and Air Europa, and they will be capturing more and more traffic and following no traffic between Europe overall and South America, and that's good for the hub. And well, Air Europa, for instance, they have a license to operate inside Brazil which is also a very good combination. So for us, it's a very positive development if -- hopefully, that will go through.

Operator

operator
#44

Your next question today comes from the line of José Arroyas of Santander.

José Arroyas

analyst
#45

My questions have been answered.

Operator

operator
#46

[Operator Instructions] We do have one more question at the moment, which comes from the line of Chian Maynard (sic) [ Charles Maynadier ] of Kempen.

Charles Maynadier

analyst
#47

A few questions from me. So on the dividend payout applicable to 2020, could you give us some more color on what you expect thereafter? And when will you officially communicate on a new policy? And that question also relates to how you see leverage of the company developing in the medium term assuming the higher CapEx is approved in the second DORA. On the Brazilian airports, how will you report it going forward? What sort of KPIs will you give? Could we expect something like you're doing for Luton? On the cost side, so you mentioned that you're below the DORA cost per ATU. But could you confirm that you will -- do you also expect to arrive below the projection in 2021? And finally, anything you could share on your M&A pipeline.

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#48

Okay. Well, in terms of the dividend policy, it remains in place until, let's say, 2021. So 2021 payment based on 2020 profit will be still -- well, the current policy will still apply. Beyond that point, as we -- as our Board of Directors decided, it will be subject to the DORA 2 outcome. I have to say that this business has a willingness to share with shareholders the -- obviously, the outcome of any positive developments. And we are, of course, keen not to shake up any remuneration policy or shareholders' remuneration policy. But this is still early days, so we cannot commit beyond that point other than in terms of principles. Second -- I'm answering in no particular order. So maybe I'm missing something or was keeping something, please remind me. In terms of the DORA, the cost per ATU, the fact that we are still running the business below the maximum allowable cap, well, it is a fact of life. We are working towards delivering a high-quality service towards delivering the KPIs we are required to deliver. And to -- well, running the business as possibly. We are not targeting to just get there for the sake of it. That would be obviously dodgy, that's not the approach. But we believe the business needs that level of cost. Whether what we end up delivering that, we don't know. But on the other hand, I think for the DORA 2, that's not going to be the only element to be considered when coming to decide on the operating cost rates, there will be other things. There will be more space, there will be new facilities, there will be new KPIs, there will be new demands, there will be much more traffic. So hopefully -- and certainly, the decision made by the regulator will be based on the bottom line cap operating cost levels being x or y. In terms of M&A, we currently are looking around. We keep focusing on the European and the -- some South American countries. And well, [ keeping away ] is a difficult market, as you know, there are a limited number of opportunities. And I have to say, we like Brazil and we carry on believing that a very, very good country to be in. But in the meantime, well, the pipeline is limited and potentially the number of suitors can be, well, difficult to handle. But Europe and South American countries, Colombia, Brazil, these places are our main focus. I'm missing something, not sure what is it, if you can remind me.

Charles Maynadier

analyst
#49

Yes, that was on the Brazilian airport. So how will you report it going forward? What sort of KPIs will you give? Will it be like a Luton? So Luton, you gave the expenses, for example, for Aena and then just for Luton. So can we expect the same reporting on -- what are your thoughts there?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#50

Yes. You should expect that we have to be consistent in providing the same sort of information for every business we have -- we control.

Charles Maynadier

analyst
#51

Okay. And then maybe just to be more clear on the timing of the new dividend policy. So that will be given in a year from now together with full year '20 results?

José Leo VizcaÃno

executive
#52

Well, it's difficult to say. But I think we will need to have visibility on DORA 2. And DORA 2 final decision will be made by -- final, final should be made by September 21. So probably the shareholders' meeting of -- taking place in March or April 2021 may be the one making the decision or maybe not. I don't know. I don't want to take any commitment because, clearly, everything is subject to -- that doesn't mean you cannot pay a dividend a little bit later if the decision is made, let's say, 2 months later. But I think it's perfectly consistent to pay whatever dividend is required. With the shareholders' meeting making the decision in 20 -- March 22, to say something. But frankly, it's difficult to commit at this stage.

Operator

operator
#53

It appears there are no further questions at this time.

Emilio Rotondo

executive
#54

Okay. Thank you, everybody, once again, to be here with us with the presentation and meet you again at the end of April. Thank you very much. Bye.

Operator

operator
#55

That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect.

Read the full transcript via the API

You're viewing the first half of this call. Get the complete Aena S.M.E., S.A. transcript — plus 251,000+ transcripts from 12,000+ companies, speaker segments, AI summaries and full-text search — through the EarningsCalls.dev API.

Get the API View API docs →

This call discussed

For developers and AI pipelines

Programmatic access to Aena S.M.E., S.A. earnings transcripts and 251,000+ others is available through the EarningsCalls.dev REST API. Plans from $24.99/month — full transcripts, speaker segments, full-text search, and the recently-added /api/v1/transcripts/recent polling endpoint for ETL pipelines.