Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V. (NASDAQ:OMAB) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Andressa Varotto: Hi, good morning, everyone. Thank you for taking my question. So, my first question is just a follow-up on the tariff. So, you mentioned that you’ve implemented fully already the [TUA] (ph) discounts in the fourth quarter. So, just trying to understand if this — the tariffs that we saw in the first quarter already considers this discount for the whole quarter and we can — if we can assume just inflation from there? And my second question is regarding margins. I think that the company continues to show positive efficiency gains and cost controls. What will be your margin expectations for 2024? Thank you.

Ruffo Perez Pliego: Regarding the tariff, the discounts were implemented in November and December. And in January, on the level of the discounted tariffs, we applied the inflationary increases.

Ricardo Duenas: The discounts were in 10 or 13 airports, so it was a 10% discount. We take away the three airports around an 8.9% for the whole OMA, and we added inflation starting January 1st.

Ruffo Perez Pliego: And regarding margin, I think based on our current expectation of traffic and the inflationary increases that Ricardo just mentioned that applied starting January and the cost inflation pressures as well, we don’t see an expansion opportunity for next year. And obviously, there will also be an impact related to the increased concession tax.

Andressa Varotto: Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Pablo Ricalde with Santander. Please proceed with your question.

Pablo Ricalde: Hey. Hello, everybody. Congrats on the results. I have two questions. The first one is on dividends. I don’t know if you can provide some color on what are you expecting for dividends this year? And the second one, it’s on labor costs. We saw a sharp decrease in labor costs. I know there was a provision last year. But just to understand, how should we see labor costs going forward?

Ruffo Perez Pliego: Hi, Pablo. So, with respect to dividends, we are still assessing the right amount, considering the capacity and traffic outlook for the year. We still don’t have a proposal, but that should be presented fairly soon, at the end of March, when we call for the Shareholders Meeting for April. And with respect to labor costs, the levels that you see in the fourth quarter are reflective of the current levels that we are incurring. And on top of that, you’ll have to add wage adjustments for 2024.

Pablo Ricalde: Okay. Perfect. Thanks, and congrats.

Ruffo Perez Pliego: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Isabela Salazar with GBM. Please proceed with your question.

Isabela Salazar: Hello. Thank you for taking my question. I actually have two. The first one is, I was wondering if you could shed some light on which airport you applied the 10% TUA discount. And from this discount, what is the current percentage of the maximum tariff that you are charging derived from that? And the second question is, if you have any new initiatives regarding your commercial segment, as in new projects in the horizon or anything new?

Ruffo Perez Pliego: Can you repeat, Isabela, please your first question? We were not able to hear completely.

Ricardo Duenas: Hello?

Ruffo Perez Pliego: I think, she…

Operator: It looks like we lost her. So, the next question comes from the line of Gabriel Himelfarb with Scotiabank. Please proceed with your question.

Gabriel Himelfarb: Hi, good morning. Thanks for the call. Quick question, I think a follow-up question about the [indiscernible]…

Ricardo Duenas: Gabriel, we cannot hear you clearly. I don’t know if it’s possible, if you can get closer to a microphone.

Gabriel Himelfarb: Okay. Can you hear me well?

Ricardo Duenas: No.

Ruffo Perez Pliego: No.

Operator: We lost Gabriel. Our next question comes from the line of Fernanda Recchia with BTG Pactual. Please proceed with your question.

Fernanda Recchia: Hello, Ricardo, Ruffo, and Emmanuel. Thank you for taking my question. My question is more regarding the ASM airport. We know that there have been some change in terms of these loss of the airlines. Also, there were some change regarding the passenger fee. So just wondering, how do you see all these change that have been going on at the airport impacting your airport? That’s it from my side. Thank you.

Ruffo Perez Pliego: Which airport are you talking about, Fernanda?

Fernanda Recchia: The Mexico City International Airport.

Ruffo Perez Pliego: Yeah. So, as you know, starting in January of this year, hourly operations were reduced from 53 to 42 per hour. And that has caused airlines to seek alternative routes. The Mexico City airport announced that they had shown a decline of 11% in the January numbers. Actually, in the routes for OMA, it’s about a 9% decline in the month of January. And if you include the effects, the growth of Toluca and AIFA, the total metropolitan market for January was about a 2% reduction in January just. So, most of the reduction in the capacity of Mexico City is being captured either by Toluca and AIFA. And we also should expect, although it’s difficult to measure it, some traffic that will be diverted to our Monterrey hub as well.

Ricardo Duenas: We’re also starting to see an increase in load factors in the Mexico City Airport.

Fernanda Recchia: Thank you. It’s clear. And if I may, just to follow up on the traffic projections, you mentioned that you’re expecting a flattish figure for this year. But just wondering, how do you see the normalization of Acapulco figures? When should we expect the airport to become positive in terms of growth trends?