Intermoney| Aena expects to receive during the final days of June new bids for the operation of the duty free shops in Madrid Barajas and Barcelona El Prat airports, according to Cinco Días newspaper.
This is a repetition of the process that was abandoned months ago, when duty free shops throughout Spain were put out to tender, and several lots were awarded, but not those located in the airports of the capital and Barcelona. The operator is counting on up to 13 companies, including industry giants Dufry and Lagardére, to bid for these two contracts, which in theory represent more than 40% of Aena’s minimum revenue in Spain. Both companies have already been awarded contracts in other parts of the country. The contracts extend their duration from the previous seven years to 12 years, in response to suggestions from the industry.
Assessment: These are two important contracts for Aena, which has maintained the specifications for both, except that it obviously no longer requires bidders to bid simultaneously for the duty free contract in northern Spain. The commercial activity, which is not regulated within the DORA, has a very important weight in Aena, as before the pandemic it represented up to 40% of EBITDA. With the recovery of traffic and the effect of inflation, this percentage is increasing, not for nothing during the last Q1, did its EBITDA increase by +37% compared to Q1 19, compared to declines even in the aeronautical activity.
