Corporacion America Airports SA

Good morning and welcome to the Corporación América Airport's second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. A slide presentation accompanies today's webcast and is available in the investor section of the Corporación América Airport's website. As a reminder, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Patricio Iñaki Esmaola, Head of Investor Relations. Patricio, please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Speaking during today's call will be Martina Ornacan, 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 statement section of our earnings release and recent findings with the SEC. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new or changed events or circumstances. Now, let me turn the call over to our CEO, Martin Ernagyan.

Thank you, Iñaki. Hello, everyone, and welcome to our second quarter 2023 earnings call. I will kick off today's call by providing a summary of our financial highlights, followed by a quick review of traffic and cargo trends. I will then turn the call to Jorge to go through our second quarter financial results. We reported an outstanding quarter with robust performance across the board. Adjusted EBITDA reached yet another record of $151 million, up 27% when compared to second quarter of 2019, with the adjusted EBITDA margin XI-12 expanding 3.2 percentage points. This was achieved with passenger traffic approaching pre-pandemic levels. Again this quarter, all territories contributed with positive adjusted EBITDA, fueled by a strong rebound in travel demand and solid execution across operations. Revenues ex-IFIC-12 climbed 17% when compared to second quarter 2019, reflecting the good performance in both aeronautical and commercial revenues. Costs, in turn, increased below revenue growth, reflecting the operating leverage we have built into the company. The increase in profitability, along with a slight reduction in net debt, contributed to further lowering our leverage ratio to an all-time low of 1.8 times, reflecting the amazing work we have undertaken during and after the pandemic in connection with our commercial activities. On the CapEx front, We remain well on track with the execution of our fully funded CAPEX programs in Argentina and Uruguay and are actively and selectively looking to other airport concessions to continue expanding our airport network and delivering long-term value to our stakeholders. Next, turn to slide four for a deeper dive into passenger traffic patterns. The line chart tracks the sustained recovery we have been seeing in travel demand. We were just 1% below second quarter of 2019 levels. As a point of reference, in the first quarter, traffic was about 10% below the 2019 level. Importantly, by June, passenger traffic has exceeded pre-pandemic by 3%. Now, let's look at the second quarter performance across each of our countries of operations. Armenia, Argentina, and Ecuador posted volumes above pre-pandemic levels, while Uruguay, Italy, and Brazil continued their recovery trend. Armenia continues to lead the recovery, with traffic climbing 73% year-on-year and exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the fifth straight quarters by 82%. This strong performance was aided by the entrance of new carriers and increased flight frequencies. And it continued into July with traffic surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 62%. Passenger traffic in Argentina surpassed pre-pandemic levels by low single digits for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. Domestic traffic, which accounted for over 70% of total traffic, exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 11%, while international passengers continued to recover, reaching 82% of second quarter of 2019 levels. This good performance continued into July, with total traffic at 98% of July 2019 levels, driven by domestic traffic above pre-pandemic levels and international traffic improving to 88% of July 2019. Ecuador continues to post a healthy traffic trend, 11% above pre-pandemic levels, supported by double-digit growth in both domestic and international traffic. Growth continued into July, outperforming 2019 volumes by 10.1%, as robust traffic with the US, Europe, and Panama supported international performance. while Ecuador's entry energized the competitive environment in domestic traffic. Uruguay, where traffic is 100% international, saw the number of passengers increase to 87% of second quarter of 2019 levels, following a weaker first quarter of the year. This performance continued into July, with passenger traffic increasing to 94.6% of July 2019 volumes. In Italy, passenger traffic continued to recover, reaching 98% of pre-pandemic levels, reflecting similar recovery levels for both domestic and international traffic. Notably, Florence Airport was operating 8% above second quarter of 2019 levels, while some pre-pandemic destinations have not yet resumed at Pisa Airport. In July, total traffic improved further, surpassing 2019 volumes by 6.2%. Finally, traffic in Brazil increased to 96% of pre-pandemic levels, up from 86% in the prior quarter. While traffic was impacted by financial and aircraft constraints at some local airlines, domestic traffic, which accounts for the vast majority of traffic in Brazil, surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time, up in the low single digits. Delay traffic was 12.1% below 2019 levels, still impacted by the aforementioned financial and aircraft constraints. Next cargo on slide five. Cargo volumes were up low single digit year on year, reaching 86% of pre-pandemic levels, up from 81% in the prior quarter. Noteworthy, cargo revenues were 29% above pre-pandemic levels, reflecting a sustained strong contribution from Argentina. Cargo volumes in Armenia and Uruguay remain above pre-pandemic levels. In turn, Argentina and Ecuador improved to 86% and 82% of second quarter of 2019 levels respectively, while Italy and Brazil are still in recovery phase. In sum, we are encouraged by the positive recovery trends we are seeing in our cargo business and we are confident in this sustained recovery going forward. Importantly, our customers can rely on us to provide dependable and exceptional service. I will now hand off the call to Jorge, who will review our financial results. Please, Jorge, go ahead.

Thank you, Martín, and good day, everyone. Starting with our top line on slide six, total revenues, EXIFIC-12 increased 20% year-on-year and surpass pre-pandemic levels by 17%. We are pleased with the continuation of the robust growth we have been able to deliver, driven by solid revenue growth from both commercial and aeronautical. Aeronautical revenues increased 24% year on year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the second consecutive quarter. This was mainly driven by tariffs increases and a continued recovery in passenger traffic across our geography, reaching 99% of second quarter 2019 levels. Argentina maintained strong momentum, while aeronautical revenues in Armenia increased double-digit year-on-year and were up 80% compared to second quarter 2019. Commercial revenues, which accounted for nearly 50% of our total exit rate revenues, were up 16% year on year and 39% above pre-pandemic levels. This was mainly supported by a solid performance of cargo and duty-free revenues in Argentina and higher fuel-related revenues in Armenia. As a reflection of these strong results, our revenues per passenger increased 19% from $15.6 in the second quarter 2019 to $18.5 this quarter. Now turning to our cost structure on slide seven. Total costs and expenses for the quarter increased 12% year on year XE3-12, following the sustained growth of our business, but still below our 20% revenue growth. Compared to 2019, total costs and expenses XE3-12 for the quarter grew by 10%. This is mainly explained by higher fuel costs in Armenia due to increased fuel sales in the quarter, higher concession fees in Argentina, also tied to higher activity, and higher salaries in Argentina as a local inflation rate was above currency depreciation. SG&A expenses were up 40% year on year mainly reflecting a benefit of a one-time debt recovery of $10 million in Argentina, which occurred in the second quarter of last year. Compared to second quarter 2019, SG&A increased 8% well below the 17% revenue growth. Moving on to slide 8, as a result of our strong top-line growth and a streamlined cost structure, we delivered record adjusted EBITDA of $151 million in the second quarter of 2023, beating the historical high previously achieved in the first quarter of the year. All geographies contributed to this performance. Year on year, adjusted EBITDA was up 37%. When including this comparison, the debt recovery recorded in the second quarter of 22, and increased 27% when compared to the second quarter 2019. Moreover, the adjusted EBITDA margin ex-EFIC 12 reached 14.9% up 4.7 percentage points from last year and 3.2 percentage points above pre-pandemic levels. Turning to slide nine, supported by our strong cash flow generation, we ended the quarter with a total liquidity position of $512 million, up 60 million compared to year-end 2022. Importantly, we delivered positive cash flow from operations in all our operating subsidiaries. Moving on to our debt and maturity profile on slide 10. Total debt at quarter-end was $1.46 billion, while our net debt stood at $1 billion. We closed the quarter with a strong balance sheet and healthy debt profile. As a result of the continued growth in our adjusted EBITDA and slightly lower net debt levels, our net leverage ratio declined further to 1.8 times from 2.4 times as of December 2022, reaching an all-time low. Wrapping up, we maintain a strong momentum delivering strong operating financial results, further contributing to the reduction of our leverage. I will now hand back the call to Martin, who will discuss our view for the remainder of the year and provide some closing remarks.

Now, to wrap up, please turn to slide 11. We are pleased to have delivered a solid second quarter performance, setting a new record high, adjusted EBITDA, 27% above pre-pandemic levels, despite traffic volumes at practically pre-pandemic levels. Also noteworthy is the considerable increase in revenues per passenger, which expanded to $18.5 up from $15.6 in the same period of 2019. As we look ahead, our primary focus continues to be on the negotiations with the government of Armenia regarding a much needed $400 million CAPEX program. The approval process for the new master plan at Torrens Airport, which remains on track, and then receiving the indemnification payment in connection with the return of Natal Airport in the fourth quarter of this year. Additionally, we also remain focused on expanding our portfolio, and we continue working with the government of Nigeria in connection with the Abuja and Kano concession agreements. Separately, we are also pleased to report that we have just published our second sustainability report and invite you to read it. We are just starting this journey. We are committed to driving continuous improvement and awareness across the company and look forward to share with you more updates as we advance on this ESG journey. These ends are prepared remarks. We are ready to take your questions. Operator, please open the line for questions.

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your touch-tone phone. You will hear a three-tone prompt acknowledging your request. And if you would like to withdraw from the question queue, please press star followed by two. And as a courtesy to other callers on the line, we ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. Please go ahead and press star one now if you do have any questions. And your first question will be from Jay Singh at Citi. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everybody. Thank you for taking my question. What are your plans for expanding to new markets right now? Can you talk to us a little bit more about the Nigerian market plan? Sure.

Thank you, Jay. As we always said, once we started the recovery out of the pandemic, we started again looking for opportunities to grow our markets. We participated in the Nigeria process and we were selected to be there for two airports, Abuja, the capital, and Kano, an airport in the north. And we continue discussing with the government the terms to be able to finalize and sign and start that process. This has opened the door for us to start looking for opportunities in Africa as a continent, which we have a team working now on different opportunities that may arise there. But we also keep our eyes open and working in the different geographies where we're already present, understanding if there are opportunities that can be accretive for our portfolio. And we will keep with that attitude, looking for good opportunities, but always being very disciplined with our cash and our investment criteria.

Awesome. And as a follow-up, I'd like to know, how should we think about your normalized long-run capex rate? Thank you very much. Please unmute. Hello.

Thank you, Jay. In terms of CAPEX, what we have is a CAPEX agreement with the government of Argentina related to the 10-year extension signed in 2020, which we are currently executing. That had a requirement of $406 million, which are perfectly underweight, and some extra capex for the following years, which will probably be decided later on. The same thing happens in Uruguay, where we agreed with the government the addition of six regional airports in the country, which require us to do CAPEX in all of them, and we have a CAPEX agreement as well there, which is also underway with the first airport open at the end of last year, and other investments in the rest of the airports underway and on track in terms of timing and budget as well. For the rest, in terms of material CAPEX for the rest of the subsidiaries, beyond maintenance capex, it would have to do with what we mentioned just now on Florence and Pisa regarding the agreement with the government for the investments there and the discussions we're having in Armenia regarding also an important capex development because of the high traffic that we're seeing there and the requirement to feed this growing traffic. But beyond these required CAPEX that we have because of the agreements with the governments, the rest would be only maintenance CAPEX going ahead. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Super helpful.

Thank you. As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your touchtone phone. Thank you, and at this time it appears we have no further questions. I will turn the call back to Martin for any additional closing remarks.

I just wanted to thank you all for joining us today and remind you that our team remains available to discuss any further information that you may require. And please enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, this does indeed conclude your conference call for today. Once again, thank you for attending. At this time we ask that you please disconnect your lines. Have a good weekend. Ladies and gentlemen this does indeed conclude your conference call for today. Once again thank you for attending.