Yannis Paraschis: At 30 million passengers traveling by AIA – Upward revision of the sizes for 2024 – Economic Postman

The Administration of Athens International Airport is revising upwards its estimates for the course of economic figures in 2024, as the company’s managing director Yannis Paraschis said yesterday while speaking at the annual general meeting of shareholders.

AIA: The target now is 33 million passengers

AIA management had pledged to review the targets for 2024 with the end of the first quarter having a better picture of the passenger traffic trajectory in 2024. According to the first quarter 2024 data showing an increase in passenger traffic by 16.5% as passenger traffic increased to 5,215,482 compared to 4,476,111 in the corresponding period of 2023, Mr. Paraschis said that air traffic will move around 30 million passengers, up from 28.17 million in 2023 .

It is recalled that in the newsletter the AIA estimated passenger traffic for 2024 at 28.3 million passengers.

Of course, with the positive progress of the traveling passengers, the airport will also have increased costs. However, according to management, the goal is for the adjusted EBITDA margin to remain above 60%.

It should be noted that in the presentation of the results to the analysts, the AIA management had stated that increased demands on resources are expected to serve the high levels of passenger traffic in order to provide the best possible level of services. The increased resources, combined with inflationary pressures, are expected to bring operating costs per passenger (excluding the variable portion of the Entitlement Fee) to 2022 levels. However, the Company will maintain operational efficiency, cost competitiveness and the services with the best quality/price ratio.

High EBITDA margins, fixed fees

Therefore, high EBITDA margins will be maintained, marginally lower than 2023 levels due to increased operating expenses. Regarding dividends, in 2024 management aims to distribute as much as possible the remaining 2023 net profits available for distribution. This is in addition to the €130 million of 71 2023 interim dividends distributed to the Company’s shareholders prior to the IPO Offering (IPO).

Also, as it was emphasized in yesterday’s meeting, the fees remain stable, and even if the fee is reduced next November, it will be replaced with corresponding fees to airlines and passengers.

The significant robustness of the company’s cash reserves and the fact that the company stands out for its high dividends were also highlighted.

Investments

Referring to AIA’s investment plans, Mr. Paraschis emphasized that the implementation of 33MAP, the first phase of the Spatial Plan that has been activated with the aim of increasing the capacity of the airport’s facilities, is a key priority for the company.

In this direction, the Civil Aviation Authority has already approved the relevant master plan and currently the management of the company is in the process of selecting the architects who will undertake the architectural plans.

In the same context, the plan for the financing of the investment plan is currently being drawn up, for which the management of AIA estimates that it will come from banks on competitive terms. As pointed out, in fact, contacts are already being made with domestic and foreign credit institutions in this direction.