For airport operators listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange, sustained growth in traffic levels is anticipated, exceeding what was seen in 2019, a year prior to the pandemic and when the sector registered an average growth of 7%.
“After a 2020 with strong falls in passenger traffic and a recovery in 2021 due to the progress in the vaccination process and lower flight restrictions due to the pandemic, by 2022 we maintain a constructive perspective for airport groups, but we suggest a selective investment, since it is one of the sectors that has the greatest exposure to outbreaks due to new variants of Covid-19 ”, explained Ramón Ortiz, analyst at Actinver Casa de Bolsa.
Brian Rodríguez, an analyst at Monex, agreed when he explained that airport operators will continue to report growth in passenger traffic and with better margins and more favorable occupancy rates.
“For 2022 we see a more accelerated recovery scenario for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (Asur), secondly for Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) and lastly for Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (Oma). Although we highlight that the three operators are beginning to generate margins similar to those they had before the pandemic, “said Brian Rodríguez.
Everyone wins at the stock market in 2021
The three airport groups generated returns for their shareholders this year. The growth in the price of the GAP share stands out, which from the beginning of January and until December 28, 2021 rose 33.5%, to 281.45 pesos per unit.
This level has exceeded by almost 20% the price registered in the same period of 2019, when its papers were traded at 226.86 pesos each.
Asur is the issuer with the second highest performance in the airport sector for the referred period, generating a return of 29.8%, at a price of 418.18 unit pesos. This level is placed by its negotiation 15.17% above the same period of 2019.
OMA’s shares are further behind than those of its peers, reflecting an appreciation of just 12.47% between January and until December 28, 2021, standing at 138.79 pesos, 4.7% below its 2019 price.
“We anticipate that, despite the resurgence of new variants, such as Ómicron, the sector is better positioned to face new infections,” said Ortiz.
“We consider that the restrictive measures for flights will be very similar to those we currently have, added to the fact that there will be greater progress in the vaccination process, this context generates a more limited risk of a drop in passenger traffic,” he explained Ramón Ortiz.
Increased demand for tourist trips
The analyst added that the most outstanding performance will be for Asur due to its high sensitivity to international traffic, since it operates the Cancun airport, one of the most important tourist destinations in the country and the one that showed the greatest recovery in 2021.
Regarding GAP, it presents a mixed performance, on the one hand, favored by tourist complexes such as Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, but still with limitations in the demand for business trips, having operations in the Guadalajara air terminal.
While OMA will present a slower recovery, equally affected by the demand for business travel, such as the Monterrey airport. GAP and OMA are more attractive due to their diversification in domestic and international passenger mobility. Asur will be behind.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx