Corporacion America Airports Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
May 23, 2025

Key Takeaways

  • Total passenger traffic rose 7% year-over-year (over 9% excluding the exited Natal concession), with Argentina and Italy driving record volumes in January and continued strength into April.
  • Total revenues (ex-IFRIC 12) increased 6.4% year-over-year—or 11.5% on an ex-IAS 29 basis—outpacing traffic growth, with stable revenue per passenger of $20.5 and strong aeronautical and commercial revenue contributions across key markets.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $156 million, down 4.6% reported (but up 4% ex-IAS 29), while margins contracted to 38.2% due to inflation-driven cost pressures in Argentina and higher maintenance and energy costs in Italy.
  • The balance sheet remains solid with $524 million in liquidity, a net leverage ratio of 1.1×, and healthy cash generation supporting disciplined capital allocation and growth capacity.
  • The company is actively pursuing expansion and M&A, having submitted proposals for Montenegro and Angola, advancing Argentina concession rebalancing, and awaiting environmental approval for its Florence master plan in Italy.
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Earnings Conference Call
Corporacion America Airports Q1 2025
00:00 / 00:00

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Operator

Good morning and welcome to the Corporación América Airports First Quarter 2025 conference call. A slide presentation accompanies today's webcast and is available in the Investor section of the company's website. As a reminder, all participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Patricio Iñaki Esnaola, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Patricio Iñaki Esnaola
Head of Investor Relations at Corporación América Airports

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Speaking during today's call will be Martín Eurnekian, our Chief Executive Officer, and Jorge Arruda, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we proceed, I would like to make the following safe harbor statement. Today's call will contain forward-looking statements, and I refer you to the forward-looking statements section of our earnings release and recent filings with the SEC. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new or changed events or circumstances. Please note that throughout this call, all references to revenues, costs, adjusted EBITDA, and margin will refer to figures excluding IFRS 12. I will now turn the call over to our CEO, Martín Eurnekian.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Thank you, Iñaki. Good day, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Let me begin by walking you through the main highlights of our first quarter 2025 performance. After that, Jorge will take you through the financials in more detail, and we'll then move on to Q&A. I am pleased to report that we had a strong start to the year, with total passenger traffic growing by over 7% year over year, or more than 9% when excluding the discontinued Natal concession. Growth was driven by strong performance in Argentina and Italy, with Argentina reaching record traffic levels in January. We also reached a record high in January at Carrasco Airport in Uruguay. International traffic increased nearly 13%, led by Argentina and Italy, while domestic traffic rose 4%, or close to 8%, when excluding Natal. Revenues rose 6% year over year.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

However, on an ex-IAS29 basis, we delivered an increase of nearly 12%, surpassing passenger growth despite the impact of local currency devaluations in Brazil and, to a lesser extent, in Italy on reported revenues in US dollars. Revenue per passenger remained relatively stable at $20.5, or increased by 3.9% excluding IAS29. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $156 million. Excluding IAS29, it was up 4%, and the margin stood at 38.2%. Inflationary pressures in Argentina, where peso-denominated operating costs rose at significantly higher pace than devaluation, had an impact on our EBITDA. From a financial standpoint, we sustained a solid performance, supported by healthy cash generation and a solid liquidity position. Our leverage remained at low levels, providing capacity to advance our strategic growth agenda with discipline. On the expansion front, we remain active in pursuing opportunities and continue to make progress across multiple geographies, analyzing several projects.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Let's turn to passenger traffic on page four, which showed a strong performance across most of our operations during the first quarter of 2025. Total passenger traffic increased by 7% year over year to over 20.4 million, excluding, for comparison purposes, the Natal airport concession, which we exited in February last year. Traffic was up over 9% in the period and highlights the underlying strength of demand across key markets, as well as the quality of our portfolio. Growth was broad-based, with both international and domestic traffic performing well. Domestic traffic increased by 4% year over year, or nearly by 8% when excluding Natal. This was primarily driven by a recovery in Argentina and strong performances in Italy and Brazil. International traffic was up by close to 13% year over year, with a positive contribution from all markets except Armenia. Let's go now into year-on-year performance by country.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Beginning with Argentina, our largest market, passenger traffic rose over 12%, recovering strongly from the moderate decline seen in the prior quarter and achieving an all-time high in January. Growth was supported by a recovery in domestic demand and continued strong momentum in international travel. Domestic traffic grew by 9%, rebounding from the contraction in the prior quarter, as year-over-year comparisons are no longer affected by the Pre-Viaje Travel Incentive Program, discontinued under the new administration in December 2023. We've also seen positive road developments in Argentina's domestic market, with low-cost carriers expanding capacity and connectivity. On the international side, traffic increased by 21% year over year, further accelerating from the pace seen in the prior quarter.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Aerolíneas Argentinas resumed operations to Porto Alegre and confirmed plans to continue operating the Córdoba-Río de Janeiro route year-round, while Avianca upgraded its service to Buenos Aires, using wide-body aircraft to accommodate rising demand, and LATAM increased frequencies on its Córdoba-Santiago and Mendoza-Santiago routes. This strong performance in Argentina continued into April, with domestic and international passenger traffic growing by 14% and 21% year over year, respectively. Turning now to Italy, traffic was up over 10%, reflecting steady growth across both Florence and Pisa airports. This good performance was mainly fueled by Ryanair's increased frequencies and route expansion initiatives. International traffic, which accounted for roughly three-quarters of total volume, grew just over 8%, with both airports contributing positively. Domestic traffic grew at an even faster pace, rising over 17% year over year, underscoring the strength of local demand.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

This solid performance continued into April, with domestic and international passenger traffic increasing by 15% and 10%, respectively. In Brazil, we continue to see traffic growth, with volumes up in the mid-single digits year over year when excluding Natal Airport, which we ceased to operate in February of last year. While the sector still faces headwinds related to aircraft supply, underlying demand showed encouraging signs of improvement across the quarter. However, international traffic grew 28% year over year, underscoring the great momentum in international demand. In April, overall traffic increased by 17% against April last year. In Uruguay, total traffic was up close in the digits, as international routes continued to expand. The summer season saw new services from Sky and LATAM connecting Montevideo to Río de Janeiro and Punta del Este to Santiago, respectively.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Azul also began operations between Montevideo and Florianópolis and announced a new route to Campiñas, aimed at improving regional connectivity and tourism flows. Traffic in April performed well and increased by 17%, benefiting from additional demand generated by the Easter holiday. In Armenia, where we are operating at capacity during various hours of the day, following strong post-COVID performance, passenger traffic increased slightly by over 1%. Notably, Wizz Air announced that it will establish a base at Yerevan Airport, along with a broad range of new European routes, scheduled to start operating later in the year. In addition, China Southern, Air Cairo, Calm Air, and Sky Express began operating at Yerevan Airport. These developments are boosting connectivity and positioning Armenia as a regional hub. We expect these operations to contribute positively to traffic growth in the country. Traffic in April rose by 8% against April last year.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Finally, in Ecuador, total traffic increased by over 2% year over year, driven by a mid-single digit increase in international demand, combined with modest growth in domestic traffic. High airport levels and the challenging security backdrop in the country continue to weigh on growth, but overall activity remained positive. Traffic in April decreased by 1.8% compared to April 2024. The quarter delivered a strong performance, led by Argentina's solid rebound and steady growth across Italy, Uruguay, and Brazil, which showed improving trends excluding Natal. Overall, these great results highlight the quality of our network of airports. Turning now to cargo on slide five. We saw a strong start of the year, with volumes up 9% year over year in the first quarter, reflecting solid performance in most geographies.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Growth was particularly strong in Uruguay, up nearly 30%, reflecting higher activity in both imports and exports, followed by growth in the low teens in Argentina, which continues to benefit from more flexible import regulations and improved macro conditions. Armenia and Italy also posted solid gains, while Brazil and Ecuador showed modest declines. Notably, Argentina, Brazil, and Armenia continue to represent the bulk of activity, together accounting for nearly 80% of total cargo volume in the quarter. Cargo revenues declined 7% year over year, primarily reflecting fewer storage days for imported goods in Argentina. However, on an ex-IAS29 basis, cargo revenues were up slightly, supported by better pricing and volume trends in Uruguay. A new cargo business model was implemented mid-March in Argentina, which has already started to contribute to revenue growth in the second quarter on year-over-year basis.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Looking ahead, we will continue working to enhance our cargo performance across the network, leveraging local opportunities and ensuring we maintain a competitive and efficient cost base. I will now turn the call to Jorge, who will review our financial results. Please go ahead.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Thank you, Martín, and good day, everyone. Let's start with our top line on slide six. Total revenues exit week 12 increased 6.4% year on year, or 11.5% on an ex-IAS29 basis, well above passenger traffic growth, despite the impact of local currency devaluations in Brazil and, to a lesser extent, in Italy on reported revenues in US dollars. Our revenue per passenger remained stable at $20.5, or increased by 3.9% when excluding IAS29. Aeronautical revenues were up 6.8% during the same period, or 12.7% when excluding IAS29, mainly supported by the strong performance we saw in Argentina, coupled with positive contributions from Uruguay and Ecuador. In local currency, aeronautical revenues at Brazilian airports increased by 11%.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Most notably, in Argentina, ex IAS29, aeronautical revenues grew by over 23%, supported by a 21% year-on-year increase in international traffic, and, to a lesser extent, by higher domestic passenger fees due to the tariff increase that took effect in November last year. In contrast, aeronautical revenues in Italy declined despite traffic growth due to increasing marketing support provided to low-cost airlines at Pisa Airport, which is accounted as a deduction from revenue. However, the increased marketing support is generating additional growth in traffic and, consequently, in commercial revenues. Commercial revenues increased by 6.1% year over year, or 10.2% excluding the impact of IAS29, primarily driven by higher contributions from parking facilities, VIP lounges, duty-free stores, and other passenger-related revenue streams. Growth was particularly robust in Argentina, which delivered double-digit gains, further underpinned by solid performance in Italy, Uruguay, and Ecuador.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

In local currency, commercial revenues at Brazilian airports increased by 12%. These positive trends were partially offset by lower fuel-related revenues in Armenia, which has lower margins. Turning to slide seven, total costs and expenses excluding week 12 were up 17.7% year over year. Cost of service rose approximately 16%, primarily driven by higher maintenance expenses in Argentina and increased concession fees in line with higher activity. To note, cost of service in Argentina were significantly impacted by accumulated inflation, outpacing currency depreciation, and tough comparisons against the first quarter of 2024, which did not fully reflect the inflationary impact following the sharp devaluation of the peso at the end of 2023. SG&A expenses grew 23%, mainly reflecting higher salaries in Argentina, primarily driven by the aforementioned effect of higher inflation and devaluation.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Looking ahead, we remain firmly committed to maintaining strict cost discipline across our operations, with a particular focus on Argentina. Furthermore, going forward, we currently do not expect material cost increases on a quarter-over-quarter basis. Moving through profitability on slide eight, adjusted EBITDA exit week 12 reached $156 million, down 4.6% year over year, or up 4% when excluding the impact of IAS29, driven by a 10.5% increase in Argentina. Uruguay reported another consecutive quarter of adjusted EBITDA growth of 3.8%, fueled by steady traffic increases and strong commercial performance, particularly in cargo and VIP lounge services. Ecuador delivered solid results, underpinned by robust retail and duty-free revenues, contributing to the positive momentum across our key markets. Importantly, adjusted EBITDA at Brazilian airports increased 12% in local currency.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Adjusted EBITDA margin exit week 12 was down 4.3 percentage points year over year, or 2.7 percentage points on an ex IAS29 basis, to 38.2%, mainly impacted by margin contractions in Argentina and Italy. In Argentina, while margin headwinds persisted in the first quarter, we expect improved trends in the coming quarter, supported by strong passenger performance and continued growth in commercial revenues, combined with normalized cost levels, and with a much lower gap between inflation and devaluation and easier comparisons. In Italy, results in the quarter were affected by higher maintenance and energy costs. However, both of them are embedded in the regulatory IRR pursuant to the dual-fuel concession regime and therefore will be compensated through tariff increases. Turning to slide nine, we closed the quarter with a solid total liquidity position of $524 million, slightly down from $526 million recorded at year-end 2024.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Notably, all of our operating subsidiaries reported positive cash flow from operating activities, except for Italy due to the CapEX program at Pisa Airport and Ecuador due to the one-time annual concession fee payment, which is due and paid every January. The CapEX in Italy was financed with local borrowings pursuant to the existing syndicated credit facility. Cash-using financing activities reflected debt reductions in Argentina and Ecuador. In Ecuador, we have now fully repaid all outstanding debt. Moving on to debt and maturity profile on slide ten, total debt at the end of the quarter stood at $1.1 billion, while net debt declined to $690 million from $780 million in December 2024. Our net leverage ratio remained steady at 1.1 times. In summary, we closed the quarter with a robust balance sheet and healthy debt profile. As we continue to strengthen our liquidity position, our capital allocation strategy remains unchanged.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

We remain focused on pursuing both organic and inorganic growth opportunities to expand our airport portfolio and deliver value creation to our shareholders. I will now hand the call back to Martín, who will provide closing remarks and discuss our view for this year.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Thank you, Jorge. To wrap up, please turn to slide 12. We delivered a solid first quarter, with all countries posting traffic growth and particularly strong dynamics in Argentina, Italy, and Brazil, excluding Natal. Notably, both Argentina and Uruguay reached record-high traffic in January, underscoring the positive momentum in such markets. The strong momentum continued into April, with consolidated traffic growing 14% year-on-year, as previously reported. Financially, we maintained a healthy position with liquidity at $524 million and a net leverage steady at 1.1 times. Adjusted EBITDA, excluding IAS29, rose 4% year over year, supported by strong contributions from Argentina, Uruguay, and Ecuador.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

On the commercial front, we remain focused on enhancing non-aeronautical revenues. At the Ezeiza Airport in Argentina, we inaugurated the most modern VIP lounge in Latin America and are finalizing the expansion of the duty-free arrivals area at the airport's arrival terminal, more than doubling its space. In Uruguay, we inaugurated a new covered parking facility at Montevideo Airport, further enhancing the passenger experience and non-aeronautical revenue growth. We are also making progress on strategic fronts. In Argentina, we are advancing negotiations with the government in connection with the revision of the economic equilibrium of the AA2000 concession agreement. In Italy, our Florence Master Plan received a positive environmental review, while in Armenia, we continue to move forward with the $425 million CapEX program. At the same time, we remain focused on expanding our portfolio.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Having submitted a proposal in Montenegro and a revised plan in Angola, we are evaluating new opportunities across regions. We also strengthened our new business management team to further enhance our business development capabilities and reinforce our ability to pursue value-accretive growth opportunities. Looking ahead, we expect positive traffic trends to continue in Argentina, supported by strong demand and several new operations recently announced, and we anticipate a strong summer season both in Italy and Armenia. Before closing, I'd like to highlight several recent recognitions that underscore the strength of our network and commitment to operational excellence. In Uruguay, Carrasco International Airport was named the best airport in Latin America and the Caribbean in the under-2 million passengers category by ACI's Airport Service Quality Awards, based on global passenger feedback. This is the second time Carrasco received this honor, reflecting our focus on delivering a seamless and passenger-centric experience.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

In Brazil, Brasília Airport was recognized by Cirium as the most punctual airport in the country and ranked second globally among medium-sized airports, with over 88% of flights departing on time. Brasília Airport also ranked number one in passenger satisfaction among Brazilian airports, according to the latest survey from the Ministry of Ports and Airports for the first quarter of 2025. In Ecuador, Alajuela Airport received a prestigious five-star rating from the European Foundation for Quality Management, recognizing the excellence in service quality and organizational performance. This award reflects the dedication of our local teams and reinforces our strategy of delivering best-in-class operations across geographies. Wrapping up, we remain confident in the strength of our portfolio, the discipline of our strategy, and our ability to continue creating value across our network. Operator, please open the line for questions.

Operator

Thank you, sir.Ladies and gentlemen, if you do have any questions, please press star followed by one on your touch-tone phone. You will then hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press star followed by two. If you're using a speakerphone, please lift the handset first before pressing any keys. Please go ahead and press star one now if you have any questions. First question will be from Fernanda Requer at BTIG. Please go ahead, Fernanda.

Operator

Hello, Jorge and Martín. Thank you for taking my question. Two points from our side. First, could you please provide more information regarding the Montenegro proposal that you submitted in May? Maybe if you could comment on the capacity of this airport, the regulatory regime, the amount of CapEX that you're planning to do.

Operator

You also mentioned that you presented a revised proposal for Angola. If you could give us what the updated terms of the proposal would be, that would be great. This is the first topic. Second, on traffic, if you could comment on Argentina, as you mentioned, it has been performing strongly at the beginning of this year. If you could provide us with your outlook for the upcoming months. We have seen April continued this performance, but looking forward, if you think this is a sustainable level. Thank you. Okay.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Can you hear me? Hello? Yes. Okay, good. I can hear you. Hi, Fernanda, this is Jorge. Thanks for your questions. First, on Montenegro, we submitted a proposal pursuant to the public tender process that they are carrying out on May 9th.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

We expect, according to the rules of the tender, they should be announcing within 30 days. Let's see if that will be accomplished or there's going to be any delay, but it's imminent. It's a 3 million passenger, in total. There are two airports, the airport of the capital, Podgorica, and Tivat, which is based in the Kotor Bay, which is a beautiful area in Montenegro and in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea. We are very excited. It's what we view as a low-hanging fruit because tourism is not very well developed over there, so we see strong potential there. In terms of IRR, we are targeting mid-teens. It's an inflation-based regime, so tariffs are going to be adjusted by inflation every year. The other reason we are quite optimistic is that in the midterm we see Montenegro being part of the European community.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

In Angola that you also requested, we submitted a proposal a while back. We have passed, let's say, to the second phase and have been requested to make some clarifications and adjustments in the proposal. We are in the process of preparing this revised proposal. There was a session with the government in Luanda about a month or a month and a half ago, and we expect in the next few weeks to submit a revised and updated proposal to them. Regarding traffic, we remain, I mean, obviously you have seen the numbers for the quarter and for our main markets, and also into April, the trend continued or improved. We see very healthy demand going ahead of us in our main markets, most notably in Argentina and most notably within Argentina and international.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

As Martín said, in the script, you know, there are several new routes that are going to start operations in the coming months and quarters. We see very, very, again, healthy demand ahead of us. In Italy, the same in Argentina with airlines established or decided to establish a base, and have announced several new routes. In Brazil, traffic finally started to pick up. We believe that the goal coming out of Chapter 11 is good news, with a healthy balance sheet. We are excited, basically across our portfolio from a traffic perspective. Anything else that you wanted me to address?

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

No, that's very clear. Jorge, thank you very much for your answers.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Next question will be from Alejandro Demichelis at Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Alejandro Demichelis
Alejandro Demichelis
Analyst at Jefferies

Yes, good morning, gentlemen. Thank you, Raj, for taking my questions. Couple of questions, please. Jorge, you mentioned about your cost controls, that you're trying to implement now. Could you please give us a bit more color on what initiatives are there? Should we expect kind of costs to continue to grow, say, in line with inflation in Argentina or at a different pace? That's the first question. The second question is, you mentioned your active discussions with the government in Argentina for the rebalancing of the concession. How are you thinking about the potential changes or the merger between Orsna and ANAC, the changes that we have seen at the Secretary of Transport? Could those things delay the process that you embark, or can we see a further review of the process?

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Okay, thank you very much for your questions. Regarding cost, I'd like to remind you that the gap between inflation and the devaluation, comparing this quarter with 2020, with the first quarter of 2024, was very significant. Inflation in the period was about 53%, while the devaluation 25%. The other thing that I wanted to highlight, if we exclude amortization, which has a lot to do with CapEX and with the continued CapEX programs that we have been doing, the number instead of 17% is 13%. What you see in terms of US reported, and in our earnings presentation, is a 17.7% increase. If we exclude amortization, it is a 13% increase, much more aligned with overall passenger growth of about 9.5% and below international traffic in Argentina, for instance, of 21%. Going ahead, we expect much more normalized numbers.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

We do not see any material increases on a quarter-over-quarter basis in Argentina. In terms of cost controls, I mean, this is, obviously, it is a normal course of business for us to be and continue to be very focused on costs, but we are confident that we can maintain costs despite the significant growth that we have been seeing, particularly in international traffic. I also wanted to highlight that the second impact that we had on cost was in Italy, although a lot less material, it is marginal, but I would like to highlight that this is part of the dual-peer regime and it is going to be compensated through tariffs increase going forward. Now, I will turn to Martín to talk about, if you would like to talk more about cost, I can continue. Otherwise, I will turn to Martín to talk about the second question on Argentina, economic equilibrium.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

No, I think the cost is clear. Thank you. Thank you, Jorge, and thank you, Alejandro, for your questions. I think it's a difficult one, as you know, government bureaucracy is sometimes difficult to predict, and usually it takes more time than initially expected. We are happy with the process that is being made. I cannot tell you what to expect from the change in the Secretary of Transport. I would assume that it might impact, not significantly, but might have an impact in the speed of the work. Still, being the same government, and not being any material change in the environment overall, I don't expect it to be really material.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

We'll need to see and understand what this new secretary wants to do and how he wants to do it, and if there are going to be further changes in other authorities of the regulator and so on. We're not afraid that any of these changes will in the end change the aim or the final decision or work on our concession. As you said, it might impact on how fast it gets done. As soon as we have updates, we will keep you, our investors, posted. For now, we do not see any significant change, and we see the teams working as before. Okay.

Alejandro Demichelis
Alejandro Demichelis
Analyst at Jefferies

If I can kind of quick, a bit of a follow-up there, I think in the last update that came from AA2000, there was this discussion about what the actual number could be. So the question is, is there now an agreement on what the actual difference in, or the actual imbalance of the contract is?

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

This is a work in progress and obviously led by the regulator, not by us, and it also has a confidential character. In the end, until there is no official documents on this review, it would be probably unwise for us to really comment and give a sense that in the end, might not be exactly what it comes out or might differ. I'd rather wait a little bit, have the government, the regulator work on it, and once we have official news, we can share it with everybody.

Alejandro Demichelis
Alejandro Demichelis
Analyst at Jefferies

Okay, thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, a reminder to please press star one should you have any questions. Next, we will hear from Steven Trent at Citi. Please go ahead.

Steven Trent
Steven Trent
Analyst at Citi

Good morning, gentlemen, and thanks very much for taking my questions. A couple of them were already answered, but if I could circle back a little bit on M&A, I definitely heard some interesting stuff in Montenegro, Angola, et cetera, but maybe I missed it. I did not hear you say much about the Americas and wondering, for example, if the Motiva, the former CCR, airports are of any interest to you.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Thank you. Hi, Steve. Jorge, you heard that? Yeah, I would, I'll go ahead, Jorge. Hi, Steve, thanks for the question. There is a process going on. It's a confidential process. We have an appetite to evaluate. It's a large portfolio. As such, there are challenges, there are good things, and there are also challenges. We'll keep you posted in the market in general as we make progress and as we can make disclosures about the process. Appreciate that, Jorge. That's very clear.

Steven Trent
Steven Trent
Analyst at Citi

Just kind of a quick follow-up also on the M&A side. I recall some time ago that CAAP was possibly going to look at some investments along with an investment fund in the Middle East, I believe in the UAE. Is that something that could still be a conduit for you guys, or are you thinking mainly to invest directly in places like Montenegro and elsewhere? Thank you.

Jorge Arruda
CFO at Corporación América Airports

Thanks, Steve. Generally speaking, we have been very active in looking for new opportunities. As we have mentioned, we actually boosted our new business team. You know, we allocated more people to this team and are looking at more opportunities for us, including but not limited to the Middle East. So yes, Middle East is included in our target.

Steven Trent
Steven Trent
Analyst at Citi

Great. Thanks, Jorge and Martín. Appreciate it.

Operator

Thank you. Next question will be from Daniel Rojas at Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Daniel Rojas
Daniel Rojas
Analyst at Bank of America

Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for taking my questions. I just wanted to ask you one question regarding the expansions in Italy. Can you give us an update on how that stands on the outlook for commencing the expansions? Thank you.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

Hello. Thank you very much for your question. Regarding Italy, as you know, it is a very long and bureaucratic process to get what is called the VIA, which is the environmental impact approval. We are, of course, the team in Italy is extremely focused on delivering all the required documents and observations by the regulatory body on this. The feedback from the team is that the process is moving ahead as supposed. We have had good news on interim parts of the process that have been successfully finished, with, let's say, with no major observations that might impact on any delays.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

But given, even with all this, having said this, the real timing is difficult to assess. We really expect to have news by the third quarter. As with any bureaucratic process, it's really difficult to put an exact finish date. Again, so far, there are no, let's say, red or yellow flags in the process, and things are moving ahead. Hopefully, as soon as we have official news, we can share it with all investors, and hopefully, by third quarter, we have the finalization of the process, and afterwards, the immediate commencement of the works. Again, subject to a bureaucratic process, and as soon as we have information, we will share it with everybody.

Daniel Rojas
Daniel Rojas
Analyst at Bank of America

Great. Thank you for the caller.

Operator

Thank you. At this time, it appears we have no further questions. I will turn the call back to Martín.

Martín Eurnekian
CEO at Corporación América Airports

I just wanted to thank everybody for your interest in our company and your participation in the call. I wish you all a great rest of your day, and remind you that our team is available at any time to engage with you, respond to any questions that you might have. Have a really good rest of your day. Bye-bye.

Operator

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, this does indeed conclude your conference call for today. Once again, thank you for attending, and at this time, we do ask that you please disconnect your line.

Analysts
    • Martín Eurnekian
      CEO at Corporación América Airports
    • Jorge Arruda
      CFO at Corporación América Airports
    • Steven Trent
      Analyst at Citi
    • Daniel Rojas
      Analyst at Bank of America
    • Patricio Iñaki Esnaola
      Head of Investor Relations at Corporación América Airports
    • Analyst
    • Alejandro Demichelis
      Analyst at Jefferies
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