Significant rebound in traffic across countries of operations and tight cost controls, supported strong QoQ and YoY Adjusted EBITDA growth

Corporación América Airports S.A. (NYSE: CAAP), (“CAAP” or the “Company”) the largest private sector airport operator based on the number of airports under management reported today its unaudited, consolidated results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2021. Financial results are expressed in millions of U.S. dollars and are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”).

Commencing 3Q18, the Company began reporting results of its Argentinean subsidiaries applying Hyperinflation Accounting, in accordance to IFRS rule IAS 29 (“IAS 29”), as detailed on Section “Hyperinflation Accounting in Argentina” on page 26.

Third Quarter 2021 Highlights

• Consolidated Revenues of $186.9 million, an increase of 91.5% YoY, or 55.2% below pre-pandemic levels of 3Q19. Excluding the impact of IFRS rule IAS 29, revenues increased 85.6% YoY, to $184.5 million, mainly reflecting increases of $51.7 million in Aeronautical revenues and $39.8 million in Commercial revenues, partially offset by a $6.7 million decline in construction service revenue. When compared to 3Q19, revenues ex-IAS 29 were 57.9% below 3Q19.
• Key operating metrics improved YoY benefitting from easier comparisons against 3Q20, but were still below the levels reported in the same period of 2019:
  • Passenger traffic increased 3.1x to 10.5 million YoY, reaching 46.1% of 3Q19 levels
  • Cargo volume increased 52.9% YoY to 80.8 thousand tons, improving to 81.3% of 3Q19 levels
  • Aircraft movements reached 140.9 thousand, a 134.6% YoY increase, reaching 62.4% of 3Q19 levels
• Operating Income of $2.8 million versus a loss of $123.0 million reported in 3Q20, mainly reflecting YoY easier comparisons and a $58.8 million impairment loss in relation with Brazilian assets, recorded last year.
• Adjusted EBITDA on an “As Reported” basis was $38.9 million, versus a loss of $77.3 million in the year ago period, and declined 61.1% when compared to 3Q19, and improved sequentially from $7.7 million in 2Q21.
• Ex-IAS 29, Adjusted EBITDA totaled $38.2 million, compared with a loss of $77.8 million in 3Q20 and Adjusted EBITDA of $102.1 million in 3Q19, and improved sequentially from $7.1 million in 2Q21.

CEO Message

Commenting on the results for the quarter Mr. Martín Eurnekian, CEO of Corporación América Airports, noted, “The initiatives we have been executing since the beginning of the pandemic allowed us to continue delivering a significantly better business and financial performance despite challenging market conditions, while driving value creation.

Traffic continued to recover reaching 10.5 million passengers in 3Q21, a 90% sequential improvement against 2Q21 and 46% of the nearly 23 million passengers that traveled through our airports, in 3Q19. Armenia, Brazil, Ecuador and Italy were the key drivers on the recovery, while Argentina and Uruguay remained heavily impacted by tight government restrictions on international traffic. On a positive note, borders in these two countries fully opened starting November 1^st, 2021, on the back of the advanced rollout of the vaccination campaigns, better sanitary conditions and warmer weather as we approach the summer season in LatAm. Cargo activity, in turn, remained strong reaching 82% of pre-pandemic levels.

These positive trends flowed through our financial results, with revenues ex-IFRIC more than doubling year-on-year to nearly $170 million, reaching 55% of 3Q19 levels. The successful cost reduction measures implemented since day one of the pandemic, some of which will have a more permanent character, together with a strict focus on cash preservation, contributed to higher profitability. Comparable Adjusted EBITDA increased to $38 million, a $57 million improvement from the loss reported in 3Q20. Importantly, we achieved positive Adjusted EBITDA across all countries of operations, except Peru.

Over the past two months we have made significant strides in strengthening the Company’s liquidity position and debt profile. Between September and November, in Argentina and Uruguay, we refinanced and exchanged a combined $425 million dollars in existing debt. We have also raised a total of $179 million in new long-term financings between these two countries and maintained financial discipline. The 20-year extension obtained for our Carrasco International airport concession in Uruguay, which also added six regional airports to our network, was an important milestone for us. This extension not only reinforces our leadership position in Uruguay, but it also creates value and supports our long-term growth.

Looking ahead, we expect travel dynamics to continue improving as we head into the summer season in LatAm, supported by lower traffic restrictions and pent-up demand. Airlines have also announced an increase in flights and destinations to serve higher expected tourism activity. We remain vigilant of new virus strains as the situation remains fluid and the recovery is still non-linear. Longer-term, we expect to see sustained traffic growth as the desire to travel remains unchanged.

Finally, we will also endeavor and contribute, through our own initiatives and together with our airline customers, to make air traffic more sustainable.”

Operating & Financial Highlights

(In millions of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted)

Operating & Financial Highlights

(In millions of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted)

Update on Action Plan to Mitigate Impact of Covid-19

Governmental Flight Restrictions

The Covid-19 pandemic has generated a disruption in the global economy, and in particular, the aviation industry resulting in drastic reductions in passenger traffic. Since March 2020, governments around the world have implemented measures to contain the spread, including the closing of borders and prohibition of travel, domestic lockdowns, mobility restrictions and quarantine measures. The overall situation remains volatile, as governments worldwide adjust travel bans or implement requirements to enter or leave their countries, including quarantines or negative Covid-19 PCR tests, based on the evolution of the sanitary situation.

• In Argentina, borders remained closed to foreigners through October 31, 2021, and government restrictions included a basket for international arriving passengers, which was limited to 1,700 a day, for most part of the third quarter and was extended to 2,300 passengers in October. Effective November 1, 2021, borders are open to all foreigners, regardless of their origin country. Travelers who present a complete vaccination schedule and a negative PCR test within 72 hours prior to boarding will no longer have to undergo an antigen test upon entering the Argentine territory, nor will they have to remain in quarantine. Bans on domestic travel were lifted by the end of October 2020.
• In Italy, certain restrictions apply for travelers coming from, or that visited or transited certain group of countries. Travelers arriving from what the Italian government defined as List D countries are required to fill in a passenger locator form as well as a vaccination certificate and are also required to undergo testing within 72 hours, before reaching Italy. In the case of travelers reaching Italy from Northern Ireland and the UK (both categorized under List D), are required to present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 48 hours before arrival. All those who fail to meet any of these requirements must follow quarantine rules and need to stay self-isolated for five days.
• In Brazil, the government has lifted the restrictions for international passengers coming from, or that transited through, UK, South Africa and India in 14 days prior to entering Brazil, and those travelers are now permitted to visit the country. Consequently, there are currently no restrictions on entry, however, all arriving passengers are still required to present a negative antigen test within 24 hours prior to boarding, or a negative PCR test within 72 hours prior to boarding.
• In Uruguay, borders are fully open effective November 1, 2021, for all travelers, regardless of their origin country, who present a complete vaccination schedule and a negative PCR test within at least 72 hours prior to boarding.
• In Armenia, there are no restrictions on air travel although some requirements apply upon entry including a negative PCR test upon arrival or a Covid-19 full vaccination certificate.
• In Ecuador, there are no restrictions to domestic or international travel. International passengers, however, are required to present a negative PCR test within 72 hours prior to boarding, or a Covid-19 full vaccination certificate.

Impact of Covid-19 on CAAP’s Passenger Traffic and Cargo Activity

The Company’s operations have been severely impacted by the prolonged travel restrictions in most countries of operations, as well as flight bans in many other countries worldwide. Compared to the 2019 pre-pandemic corresponding months, total passenger traffic showed a monthly sequential improvement within the quarter, declining 60.4% in July 2021, 52.8% in August, and 47.7% in September. During 3Q21, commercial flights were operated across all CAAP’s countries of operations, although still restricted by government bans to locals and foreigners in some countries, and certain requirements applied. Cargo activity declined 18.7% versus 3Q19.

Implementation of Mitigation Initiatives Focused on Preserving Financial Position

Since the onset of the pandemic, CAAP has consistently made progress on the implementation of its action plan to mitigate the impact of the crisis, including:

Cost controls and cash preservation measures: The Company achieved a 43% reduction in cash operating costs and expenses in the quarter against 3Q19, compared with YoY reductions of 34%, 43%, 46% and 48% in 2Q21, 1Q21, 4Q20 and 3Q20, respectively. Note this excludes concession fees and construction costs. While CAAP expects to benefit from these reductions in the coming quarters, it also expects to see some increases in payroll and maintenance and other operating costs as traffic recovers.

Financial position and liquidity: As cash preservation is a critical focus, since the beginning of the pandemic the Company has renegotiated a significant portion of its debt maturing in 2020 and 2021 in key markets, renegotiated debt covenants, and secured additional debt financing.

In April 2021, Puerta del Sur, CAAP’s Uruguayan subsidiary, obtained a $10.0 million facility from a local commercial bank, and in May 2021, the Company’s Argentine subsidiary, AA2000, renegotiated a total of $40.0 million in principal payments under a syndicated bank loan, maturing in May, August and November 2021 for an amount of $13.3 million each, deferring those payments to May, August and November 2022. In addition, in July 2021, AA2000 renegotiated $10.0 million in principal payments under a bilateral bank loan originally due in July 2021, now maturing under a new schedule in July, October and December 2022.

More recently, two of CAAP’s subsidiaries completed the following transactions:

• In Argentina, the Company completed an exchange offer and issued $208.9 million aggregate principal amount of 8.5% Class I Series 2021 Additional Senior Secured Notes due 2031 to repurchase and exchange 24.61% of the total original principal amount of the Series 2017 Notes and 66.83% of the original principal amount of Series 2020 Notes, resulting in a reduction of $37.9 million and $31.0 million, of principal and interest payments due in one year or less, and between one and two years, respectively. Additionally, on November 4, 2021, the Company raised $126.0 million of new money in two tranches: i) $64.0 million in additional Series 2021 Notes, which are fungible with the bonds issued pursuant to the exchange offer, and ii) $62.0 million in new 9.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2028. The latter have a 3-year grace period, quarterly amortization starting February 2025, and a final payment in November 2028.
• In Uruguay, the Company issued $246.2 million aggregate principal amount of 6.875% Senior Secured Guaranteed Notes due 2034 consolidating the repurchase and exchange of 40.62% of the total original principal amount of the Series 2015 Notes, 96.43% of the total original amount of the Series 2020 Notes and a new money offering of $52.9 million in a private transaction under the same terms as the New Notes. The exchange offer resulted in a reduction of $3.0 million and $18.7 million, of principal and interest payments due in one year or less, and between one and two years, respectively.

Re-equilibrium of the concession agreements:

• In Brazil, in December 2020, the Company obtained $36.6 million in economic compensation in connection with the impact of Covid-19 at the Brasilia and Natal concessions during 2020. The Company expects to receive compensation for 2021 by the end of the year and is monitoring the market to define its strategy in connection with 2022 and beyond.
• In Ecuador, in July 2021 the Company and the authorities agreed on a mechanism to compensate for the impact of Covid-19 for the year 2020 which, among other things, included a 2-year extension for the Guayaquil concession and a reduction in the concession fee. The agreement also introduced the mechanism that will be used to compensate the impact of the pandemic in 2021 and beyond, which will be revised annually.
• In Uruguay, CAAP has recently signed an agreement with the Government, to amend the existing concession agreement. For further information, please refer to the Subsequent Events section on page 26.
• In Armenia, CAAP is in ongoing discussions with the authorities to rebalance the economic equilibrium of the concession. Conversations include, among other things, the execution of a Capex plan and the mechanism to reach the aforementioned economic equilibrium, in light of the 20% IRR set forth in the concession agreement.
• In Italy, funds totaling Eur. 10 million were approved by the European Commission in March 2021, to compensate for the Covid-19 impact in 2020, which were received during August 2021. Moreover, the Italian Budget Law, that became effective on January 1, 2021, contains provisions to allocate a Eur. 800 million fund in support of the airport sector in the country. CAAP’s subsidiary, Toscana Aeroporti, expects to benefit from these provisions.

To obtain the full text of this earnings release and the earnings presentation, please click on the following link: http://investors.corporacionamericaairports.com/Results-Center

3Q21 EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL

Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures

This announcement includes certain references to Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service and Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding Construction service, as well as Net Debt:

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as income for the period before financial income, financial loss, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by total revenues.

Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service (“Adjusted EBITDA ex-IFRIC”) is defined as income for the period before construction services revenue and cost, financial income, financial loss, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding Construction Service (“Adjusted EBITDA Margin ex-IFRIC12”) excludes the effect of IFRIC 12 with respect to the construction or improvements to assets under the concession and is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service revenue and cost, by total revenues less Construction service revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service and Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding Construction Service are not measures recognized under IFRS and should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, consolidated net income for the year as determined in accordance with IFRS or as indicators of our operating performance from continuing operations. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this information and should note that these measures as calculated by the Company, may differ materially from similarly titled measures reported by other companies. We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service enhances an investor’s understanding of our performance and are useful for investors to assess our operating performance by excluding certain items that we believe are not representative of our core business. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service are useful because they allow us to more effectively evaluate our operating performance and compare the results of our operations from period to period without regard to our financing methods, capital structure or income taxes and construction services (when applicable).

Net debt is calculated by deducting “Cash and cash equivalents” from total financial debt.

Figures ex-IAS 29 result from dividing nominal Argentine pesos for the Argentine Segment, by the average foreign exchange rate of the Argentine Peso against the US dollar in the period. Percentage variations ex-IAS 29 figures compare results as presented in the prior year quarter before IAS 29 came into effect, against ex-IAS 29 results for this quarter as described above. For comparison purposes, the impact of adopting IAS 29 in Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, the Company’s largest subsidiary in Argentina, is presented separately in each of the applicable sections of this earnings release, in a column denominated “IAS 29”. The impact from “Hyperinflation Accounting in Argentina” is described in more detail page 24 of this report.

Definitions and Concepts

Commercial Revenues: CAAP derives commercial revenue principally from fees resulting from warehouse usage (which includes cargo storage, stowage and warehouse services and related international cargo services), services and retail stores, duty free shops, car parking facilities, catering, hangar services, food and beverage services, retail stores, including royalties collected from retailers’ revenue, and rent of space, advertising, fuel, airport counters, VIP lounges and fees collected from other miscellaneous sources, such as telecommunications, car rentals and passenger services.

Construction Service revenue and cost: Investments related to improvements and upgrades to be performed in connection with concession agreements are treated under the intangible asset model established by IFRIC 12. As a result, all expenditures associated with investments required by the concession agreements are treated as revenue generating activities given that they ultimately provide future benefits, and subsequent improvements and upgrades made to the concession are recognized as intangible assets based on the principles of IFRIC 12. The revenue and expense are recognized as profit or loss when the expenditures are performed. The cost for such additions and improvements to concession assets is based on actual costs incurred by CAAP in the execution of the additions or improvements, considering the investment requirements in the concession agreements. Through bidding processes, the Company contracts third parties to carry out such construction or improvement services. The amount of revenues for these services is equal to the amount of costs incurred plus a reasonable margin, which is estimated at an average of 3.0% to 5.0%.

About Corporación América Airports

Corporación América Airports acquires, develops and operates airport concessions. The Company is the largest private airport operator in the world based on the number of airports and the tenth largest based on passenger traffic. As of September 30, 2021, the Company operated 52 airports in 7 countries across Latin America and Europe (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Armenia and Italy). In 2019, Corporación América Airports served 84.2 million passengers. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange where it trades under the ticker “CAAP”. For more information, visit http://investors.corporacionamericaairports.com

Forward Looking Statements

Statements relating to our future plans, projections, events or prospects are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by terms such as “believes,” “continue,” “could,” “potential,” “remain,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause our actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the Covid-19 impact, delays or unexpected casualties related to construction under our investment plan and master plans, our ability to generate or obtain the requisite capital to fully develop and operate our airports, general economic, political, demographic and business conditions in the geographic markets we serve, decreases in passenger traffic, changes in the fees we may charge under our concession agreements, inflation, depreciation and devaluation of the AR$, EUR, BRL, UYU, AMD or the PEN against the U.S. dollar, the early termination, revocation or failure to renew or extend any of our concession agreements, the right of the Argentine Government to buy out the AA2000 Concession Agreement, changes in our investment commitments or our ability to meet our obligations thereunder, existing and future governmental regulations, natural disaster-related losses which may not be fully insurable, terrorism in the international markets we serve, epidemics, pandemics and other public health crises and changes in interest rates or foreign exchange rates. The Company encourages you to review the ‘Cautionary Statement’ and the ‘Risk Factor’ sections of our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 and any of CAAP’s other applicable filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information concerning factors that could cause those differences.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211117006308/en/