MADRID: The Spanish air port operator Aena which is also the world’s biggest airport operator by passenger volume saw its passenger growth accelerate to 5.7 percent in the first two months of this year from 4.5 percent in 2014. Due to growth in passengers, its earnings rise to €1.88 billion, around 17 percent in 2014.
It was the Madrid-based company’s first earnings report since selling shares to the public in February in Europe’s largest initial public offering since 2011. Aena had record international traffic last year as the number of foreign tourists to Spain climbed 7.1 percent to 65 million, the biggest increase in more than a decade.
The shares rose 2.7 percent to 82.87 euros at 4:19 p.m. in Madrid, taking the advance to more than 40 percent since the IPO and valuing the company at 12.4 billion euros.
The company’s Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport was Europe’s fifth-busiest by passenger volume last year with a 5.3 percent advance to 41.8 million. Its Barcelona-El Prat airport saw passengers increase 6.7 percent to 37.6 million.
