Patricio Esnaola; Head of Investor Relations; Corporacion America Airports SA
Martin Eurnekian; Chief Executive Officer, Director; Corporacion America Airports SA
Jorge Arruda; Chief Financial Officer; Corporacion America Airports SA
Alejandro Demichelis; Analyst; Jefferies LLC
Fernanda Recchia; Analyst; BTG Pactual
Jay Singh; Analyst; Citi Investment Research
Marina Mertens; Analyst; Latin Securities
Presentation
Operator
Good morning and welcome to the Corporación América Airports' third-quarter 2024 conference call. A slide presentation accompanies today's webcast and is available in the Investors section of the company's website. (Operator Instructions) At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Patricio Inaki Esnaola, Head of Investor Relations. Patricio, please go ahead.
Patricio Esnaola
Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Speaking during today's call will be Martin Eurnekian, our Chief Executive Officer; and Jorge Arruda, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we proceed, I would like to make the following safe harbor statement. Today's call will contain forward-looking statements, and I refer you to the forward-looking statements section of our earnings release and recent filings with the SEC. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new or changed events or circumstances. Please note that throughout this call, all references to revenues, costs, adjusted EBITDA and margin will refer to figures excluding IFRIC12. I will now turn the call over to our CEO, Martin Eurnekian.
Martin Eurnekian
Good day. Thank you for joining us today. Let me start today's presentation by sharing some key highlights from our third-quarter results. Following that, Jorge will provide a more in-depth financial review. And afterwards, we will open the floor for your questions. Our diverse geographic portfolio once again played a critical role in balancing our results this quarter as solid performances in other countries partially mitigated a weaker result in Argentina, while the macroeconomic environment and the specific dynamics put pressure on year-over-year comparisons. In turn, revenues ex-IFRIC12 were down approximately 4% year over year broadly in line with lower passenger volumes, while revenue per passenger held steady at $19, demonstrating our resilience in navigating challenging market conditions. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter declined in the new teens year over year, primarily due to the ongoing macroeconomic challenges in Argentina, which continue to pressure domestic traffic and increase operational costs. Duty-free sales were again lower this quarter as last year's results benefited from the significant disparity between the official and parallel effect rates. Nevertheless, we saw positive contributions from our operations in Uruguay, Brazil, and Italy highlighting the resilience of our portfolio. Importantly, our strong cash flow and solid balance sheet with net leverage remaining at record lows, underscore our commitment to financial stability while providing the flexibility to pursue growth opportunities. Now let me touch on three recent events. First, a 124% increase in the domestic passenger tariffs in Argentina was approved and effective November 1, which will support our local operations going forward. Second, our Argentine subsidiary, AA2000, approved an $80 million dividend distribution. And finally, we completed the acquisition of an additional 2.1% economic interest in AA2000 or $30.9 million from affiliated entities, which consolidates CAAP's economic interest in AA2000, while the Argentine government remains with its 15% stake in the company. Our performance during the most recent quarter reflects the ongoing successful execution of our long-term strategy and we will continue to be disciplined and balanced with our deployment of capital as we prioritize investment in the businesses to support long-term growth. Jorge will provide further details on our financials shortly. Turning to page 4 for a review of passenger traffic trends. Overall, total passenger traffic declined 4% year on year, or by 1.5% when excluding Natal, which we exited in February as part of a trend determination agreement with the Brazilian government. This decline was primarily driven by soft demand for domestic travel in Argentina, reflecting the current challenging market environment in the country. By contrast, international traffic in Argentina remained a bright spot, supported by additional routes and flight frequencies. We also continue to see positive momentum in Uruguay, Italy and Brazil. Let's take a closer look at some key year-on-year trends by region. In Italy, passenger traffic grew 6%, led by a 7% growth in international traffic while domestic traffic was up by low single digits. This performance extended into October with passenger traffic growing at 6.1% versus the same month of 2023. Uruguay continued its strong recovery with passenger numbers up 15%, fueled by new routes and additional frequencies by JetSMART and SKY introduced in the prior quarter. Looking ahead, SKY and LATAM Airlines announced resumption of routes to Rio Janeiro and Santiago de Chile for the summer season, while American Airlines will resume its Montevideo-Miami route in November, adding further connectivity to Uruguay. In October, passenger traffic rose by 2.6%. In Brazil, traffic saw a recovery this quarter, up 6% when excluding Natal Airport, even while domestic traffic remains affected by aircraft constraints. This performance extended into October with passenger traffic ex-Natal, growing at a strong 12% versus the same month of 2023. In Argentina, total passenger traffic was down 6%, and reflecting an 11% decline in domestic traffic, which remains impacted by the ongoing recession and tough comparisons to last year's Previaje government program, which boosted domestic travel but was not repeated this year. By contrast, we continue to see a positive trend in international traffic, up nearly 10%, driven by the continued return of routes and increased flight frequencies. For example, Aerolíneas Argentinas launched new routes to Rio de Janeiro and Punta Cana, while carriers including Gol, Copa and Avianca added frequencies on several routes. We also saw solid performance in key tourist destinations such as Bariloche, Iguazu and Mendoza, fighting to offset some of the domestic weakness. In October, international traffic continued to perform well. growing 7% year on year. Traffic in Armenia declined in the low single digits, following very strong traffic last year on the back of the entrance of new airlines and frequencies. In October, total traffic decreased by 2.4% compared to the same month last year. Ecuador continued to experience a mid-single-digit decline in total traffic led by a 10% contraction in domestic traffic, reflecting the exit of a local airline in October last year and persistently high effort prices which have dampened travel demand. This trend continued into October with traffic declining 1.4% year on year. Now moving on to slide 5. We saw continued momentum in cargo volumes, which increased 4.4% year on year. Argentina, Brazil and Armenia were particularly strong contributors collectively accounting for 80% of total cargo volumes. Despite volume growth, cargo revenues declined 12% year on year largely due to lower revenues in Argentina, impacted by a reduction in the number of storage days for imported goods. We continue to monitor these revenue trends closely and remain focused on maintaining efficient operations across all regions. I will now hand off the call to Jorge, who will review our financial results. Please go ahead.
Jorge Arruda
Thank you, Martin, and good day, everyone. Let's start with our top line on slide 6. Total revenues ex-IFRIC12 decreased 4.2% year on year, in line with lower passenger traffic, while our revenue per passenger remained consistent at $19, capitalizing on CAAP's geographically diverse portfolio. aeronautical revenues were down 1.5% year on year, mainly due to a onetime tariff compensation of $5.8 million received in Italy in the third quarter of last year. This was partially offset by the strong performance we saw in Uruguay, where we achieved a remarkable 22% increase in aeronautical revenues, as we continue to leverage from positive momentum in this country. Importantly, in Argentina, where aeronautical revenues remained fairly stable, we received approval for a 124% increase in the domestic passenger tariffs effective November 1. The commercial revenues decreased 6.6% year on year, mainly impacted by lower cargo and duty-free revenues in Argentina and lower fuel revenues in Armenia. This was partially offset by higher revenues from VIP lounges, parking, catering, and advertisement with strong performance in Italy, Uruguay and Ecuador. Moreover, in Brazil, we recently secured three new real estate agreements, providing further evidence of our objective to enhance our non-aeronautical revenues. Now turning to slide 7. Total costs and expenses ex-IFRIC12 increased 5% year on year, mainly reflecting inflationary pressures in Argentina's operating expenses as the local inflation rate was above currency devaluation. As a reminder, approximately 60% of total costs in Argentina are denominated in pesos, which have been impacted by retroactive adjustments based on inflation rates that are greater than the current rate. Importantly, we remain focused on maintaining strict cost controls, particularly in Argentina, where we continue to navigate challenging macro dynamics. However, we anticipate a more stable environment for the remainder of the year. Moving on to profitability on slide 8. Adjusted EBITDA ex-IFRIC12 was $145 million, a 16% year-on-year decline largely explained by the performance we saw in Argentina. This was partially offset by another quarter of double-digit growth in adjusted EBITDA in Uruguay and a positive contribution from Brazil, where we benefit the reversal of a $2.1 million provision that had been set in the fourth quarter of 2023 related to the 2023 COVID economic compensation, which ultimately did not occur due to a change in methodology we obtained with the regulatory agencies. We are very encouraged by the underlying performance of our operations in Italy despite facing difficult comparisons in this quarter due to a previously mentioned onetime tariff compensation related to previous years. Turning to slide 9. Supported by our robust cash flow generation, we closed the quarter with a total liquidity position of $605 million, up 32% when compared to year-end 2023. Furthermore, all of our operating subsidiaries reported positive cash flow from operating activities during the nine months period. Along these lines, following the end of the quarter, AA2000, our Argentine subsidiary, approved a dividend solution of $80 million, of which $68 million will be paid to CAAP subsidiaries. Despite challenging macro dynamics in Argentina, we generated excess cash while maintaining healthy debt levels and meeting our capital expenditures commitments, providing evidence of the strength of our operations in Argentina. Moving on to debt and maturity profile on slide 10. Our net leverage ratio stood at 0.9 times at quarter end. The reduction in net leverage resulted from the amortization of scheduled principal payments, early redemption in Argentina and Armenia in the second quarter of 2024, as well as cash generation. Wrapping up on my end, while we faced some headwinds in the quarter, our business remains strong, supported by a robust balance sheet, a healthy debt profile, positioning us well to capitalize on future growth opportunities. As we move forward, we remain focused on managing costs and strengthening our commercial operations to drive sustainable growth and create value to our stakeholders. I will now hand the call back to Martin, who will provide closing remarks and discuss our view for the remainder of the year.
Martin Eurnekian
As we conclude our prepared remarks, please turn to slide 12 for key takeaways before opening the call for questions and answers. Our geographic diversification helped to partially mitigate software results in Argentina on the back of a difficult macro environment. Notably, we experienced strong international traffic performance in Argentina, combined with overall traffic growth in Uruguay, Italy and Brazil expat. We remain focused on driving commercial revenue growth across our portfolio, leveraging opportunities in each of our markets. Specifically, we are pleased to report that construction is underway on a new cover parking facility at Carrasco Airport in Uruguay, which will add 180 additional parking spaces. In Argentina, we have introduced new parking-related services initiatives and work has commenced on expanding the duty-free area in arrivals terminal at Ezeiza Airport to 1,100 square meters from 700. Additionally, in Brazil, three new real estate contracts were signed in Brasilia Airport, further enhancing our commercial offerings and elevating the passenger experience. We closed the quarter with a strong cash position and net leverage ratio at historical lows despite a mid-teen decline in adjusted EBITDA ex-IFRIC12. Progress continues on key projects across our airport concessions aim and driving further growth. negotiations with the Armenian government on our proposed CapEx plans and progressing and finance approval for the Florence Airport Master plan in Italy is expected by year-end. Additionally, we continue to assess expansion projects in other regions in line with our commitment with value creation. On Argentina, while the primary challenge has been the FX and inflation dynamics as inflation continues to receive, we are optimistic that we will see a further reduction in the gap between inflation and devaluation in the coming months. This, coupled with the recent domestic tariff increase provides a more favorable context to support both revenue growth and operational resilience. Additionally, strong international passenger numbers in October further bolster our positive outlook for the remainder of the year while we continue to closely monitor the situation with Aerolineas Argentinas. As always, we remain focused on delivering solid financial results maintaining a healthy balance sheet and creating sustainable value for our shareholders. This financial flexibility enables us to support our ongoing growth initiatives across diverse geographies. Thank you for your continuous trust and support. This concludes our prepared remarks. We are now ready to take your questions. Operator, please open the line for questions.
Question and Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Alejandro Demichelis at Jefferies.
Alejandro Demichelis
Yes. Good morning, guys. Three questions, please, if I may. The first one is, Martin, you mentioned you're monitoring the situation of Aerolíneas Argentina. Could you please give us some indication of how you're seeing the potential impact if the government finally decides to close down Aerolineas and where these things can go? That's the first question. Second question is maybe you can give us some kind of indication of what we can expect from the Florence Airport agreement that you were talking about in terms of CapEx, timing of construction? And the third question is last quarter, you indicated that you were making some progress on the review of the contract in Argentina. Maybe you can give us an update on where you are at the moment, please?
Martin Eurnekian
Alejandro, thank you for your questions and your interest. Let me answer in order. To give you a sense of what Aerolíneas Argentinas means for CAAP is about 6% of CAAP revenues are coming from our Aerolíneas Argentinas' operations and in terms of the operation in Argentina itself is 15%. And each situation is very different and very complicated and this is -- this has political context also to take into consideration beyond the economics of the situation. So it will be difficult for me to comment exactly on what can happen. I can give you an example on a different situation, but that remarks the resilience of this business and of the demand for travel. In 2012, we were operating Montevideo airport, the national airline, which was more than twice as big as Aerolíneas is for us in that operation and stop planning from one day to the next. And of course, there was an impact, but for our company and the recovery that was sustained in the next two years. Even in the same year and the following year that the company stopped operation, our EBITDA kept growing. So that remarks the resiliency of this business. And I think that that's a good example on a way to look at possibilities for what can happen. Although, again, the situation is very good and I would rather not get into different scenarios for everything that we see on the news regarding that situation in Argentina. Regarding Florence, as we said in the presentation, we expect to finish the approval process, hopefully, by the end of the year for the environmental impact and the possibility to ask for a construction permit and begin the construction. That will allow us to build a new runway which, by the way, will be the first new runway in Italy for many, many years, even after the Second World War. And that would mean that we will be able to increase the number of flights and destinations for Florence, which is a magnificent tourist destination. And that will allow us to realize the potential of tourism in Florence by us, thus creating the possibility of growing at least twice to what we have today as an airport there. In terms of timing as well, we expect construction to take somewhere between two and three years for the whole project, which includes a new runway and the new terminals. As far as the contract in Argentina, we -- last time we said we were expecting the government to conduct the provision of the economic re-equilibrium of the concession. We know that this is happening now. It's a little bit delayed, but this is happening. We are waiting for it to finish. And for us to be communicated by the regulator of the results. And once we have that, we can work together with the regulator on the path ahead in terms of what we see in those results. But until it's not officially finished and we have the results, it will be difficult for me to comment on what can be the path forward, but we are making progress.
Alejandro Demichelis
That's very clear. Thank you.
Martin Eurnekian
Thank you, Alejandro.
Operator
Fernanda Recchia. BTG.
Fernanda Recchia
Hello, Martin, Jorge, Inaki. Thank you for taking my question. Two here from our side. First, I want to have a color on traffic trends going forward. Maybe if you could comment on Argentina, what are you looking for 2025? We have seen international routes performing well, but domestic routes have been performing a little bit lower. So what should we anticipate for next year? And also, if you could comment regarding other regions such as Uruguay that has been performing strongly, Brazil that we have a goal of leaving Chapter 11 next year. So maybe it would be good to hear a little bit more on traffic trends per region is my first one. And the second, just a comment on the review of Argentina, but in the sense of the tariff negotiation to. Just to be clear, the agreement that you got now is just related to 2024? And I was wondering if you still expect any further adjustment in domestic tariff for next year? Thank you.
Jorge Arruda
Hi, Fernanda. How are you? Jorge here. Thank you very much for your question. So starting with traffic trends. We continue to see positive dynamics in Uruguay in Brazil, in Italy. Armenia has been on the sidelines in the past quarters, as you know. We think that there is a chance that we see some growth going forward given new routes to Asia on Ecuador sidelines. And Argentina, we continue to see very positive dynamics on international and not positive dynamics in the domestics as we have been seeing in the past several months. That was your first question. Your second question was anything specific, different than that?
Fernanda Recchia
Thank you, Jorge. Yes. Regarding the second one, I just wanted to understand if you expect any further tariff revision in the domestic market for Argentina for next year?
Jorge Arruda
Sorry, that's right. Yeah, the tariff has been just -- adjusted the domestic tariff to about $5.5 currently. Right now, we do not expect any further adjustments.
Fernanda Recchia
Okay. Thank you.
Operator
Jay Singh, Citi.
Jay Singh
Hey. Thanks for taking my question. Jay Singh dialing on for Stephen Trent here. The first thing I want to ask is, what opportunities do you see to increase the duration of your concession assets maybe even on the AA2000 or anything else across the region?
Martin Eurnekian
Jay, would you mind repeating the question? I'm having travel hearing you.
Jay Singh
Yeah, sure. So what opportunities do you see to increase the duration of your concession assets? Maybe another AA2000 or anywhere else across the regions?
Martin Eurnekian
Okay. Well, thank you for your questions, Jay. As we see in the presentation, we are working on a CapEx proposal that will enable us to adjust the size and the capacity of the airports in Armenia to the current demand and future demand. That is a major investment for the size of the concession. And as we said, we are talking to the government to create the right environment for such investments. So we expect to close a positive negotiation with the government there that will allow us to make that investment. And one of the main barriers that we have to take into account for such negotiation with the duration of the contract. But until we do not have a closing with the government, is it difficult to say exactly how when and how much -- but of course, that is one of the main levers to pull to be able to enable such an investment in Armenia. And as you asked for the case of Argentina, that will be subject to the outcome of the revision of the commit of the construction from the regulators and the different options that we will have from there depending on the result to take action in terms of making sure that we are having to the regulated IRR of the contract. But I guess that will be seen as we move ahead in the results and in the conversations that we will have with the regulator. And the possibilities also that the law will give us in terms of ways to rebalance the concession is in the case that is needed. But that will be as of today, what we can say regarding possible extensions in the different contracts that we have.
Jay Singh
Got it. Thanks so much. That's it for me.
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Marina Mertens, Latin Securities.
Marina Mertens
Hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I have two questions. The first one is regarding Argentina. So in recent quarters, commercial revenues and domestic traffic has shown year-over-year declines as last year's results were boosted by the favorable FX and the Previaje program. Do you will say that this figures are more normalized levels that could be sustained over time rather than compared to last year? And then the second one, you mentioned that you expect Argentina as international traffic the positive trend to continue. Do you think this could eventually -- or the improved international traffic could eventually offset the negative results from lower commercial revenues and a weaker domestic performance?
Jorge Arruda
Hello, Jorge here. Thank you so much for your questions. So the few -- the last few quarters, we have been negatively impacted in Argentina, as you pointed out, due to several reasons. The decline in domestic passengers the decline in cargo revenues, the decline in duty-free related revenues, the fact that the tariff has been adjusted -- the domestic tariffs, I'm sorry, has just been adjusted a few weeks ago. And also because of inflation has been in the first -- in the last six to nine months out of --
Operator
Thank you. We have no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back over to Martin Eurnekian for closing remarks.
Martin Eurnekian
I want to thank everybody for joining us today. Thank you for your interest in our company. And please remember that our team is always available to take your questions or anything that you might need from Corporación América Airports. Thank you very much and have a good day.
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference for today. We thank you for participating and we ask that you please disconnect your lines.
