Airports often have a de facto monopoly in the area they serve; they take up a huge amount of space, cause aircraft noise, require large investments, and need a lot of other infrastructure to support them. That’s why new ones are not usually built just like that.
A large proportion of airport companies are wholly owned by the state or other public entities, and their primary task is not seen as generating profit for owners but enabling the travel and air cargo required by the local population and business community. For example, most of Finland’s commercial airports are owned by the state-owned company Finavia, in addition to a few being municipally owned.
Some airports, on the other hand, are owned by various private equity investors and pension insurance companies, an example of which is London’s Heathrow, which was in the news today.
However, some airports are listed on the stock exchange, although a public entity is often involved as a majority owner. Below is a list of publicly listed airport companies I am aware of:
- Aena
- 46 airports in Spain - market value €32.8 billion - Airports of Thailand
- 10 airports in Thailand - market value €15.6 billion - Shanghai Airport
- Both Shanghai airports - market value €10.3 billion - Aéroports de Paris
- All 3 Paris airports - market value €9.8 billion - GMR Group
- 5 airports in India, 1 in the Philippines, and 1 in Greece - market value €9.6 billion (ADP mentioned above owns 49%) - Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico
- 12 airports in Mexico and 2 in Jamaica - market value €8.9 billion - Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste - 9 airports in Mexico - market value €8 billion
- Auckland Airport
- Auckland Airport - market value €7 billion - Zurich Airport
- Zurich Airport and a few in South America - market value €6.8 billion - Copenhagen Airport
- Copenhagen and Roskilde airports - market value €6.8 billion - Fraport
- Frankfurt Airport, plus various partial ownerships and operating agreements all over the place - market value €5.4 billion - Flughafen Wien
- Vienna, Malta, and Košice airports - market value €4.4 billion - Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte - 13 airports in Mexico - market value €3.7 billion
- Athens International Airport -
- Athens Airport - market value €2.7 billion - Corporación América Airports
- 52 airports in various countries, e.g., Argentina and Brazil - market value €2.6 billion - Japan Airport Terminal
- business operations at various airports in Japan, but with Haneda Airport in Tokyo in the main role - market value €2.5 billion - TAV Airports Holding
- 15 airports in various countries, e.g., Turkey, Central Asia, Middle East, etc. - market value €2.2 billion - Beijing Capital International Airport Company - Both Beijing airports - market value €1.5 billion
- Toscana Aeroporti
- Florence and Pisa airports in Tuscany - market value €300 million - Aeroporto G. Marconi di Bologna - Bologna Airport - market value €290 million
The companies differ not only in their geographical locations but also in the nature of their business. In some cases, it’s just about operating airports, while others have large real estate, retail, etc., businesses. There are also differences in debt levels.
The growth engine for the sector is the growth of global air traffic, supported by factors such as increasing prosperity, especially in developing economies. In the long term, it matters which destinations become more attractive and, on the other hand, where people will travel more in the future.
Airport companies always entail political risk because they are very susceptible to regulation or poor or volatile guidance from the main owner. For example, a debt-ridden state owner might be tempted to short-sightedly burden an airport company with a heavy debt load and at the same time pay dividends from it to plug budget holes or similar.
Other risks include geopolitics (airspace closures, etc.) and potential pandemics.
My own portfolio currently holds a small amount of Aena, purchased about two years ago. Are there others who have invested in airports or researched the sector?
