Mexico's Asur stock plummets following weak 1Q13 results

Mexican airport operator Asur's (NYSE: ASR, BMV: ASUR) stock closed down 5.32% on April 22, following publication of the company's 1Q13 results reporting a net profit of 487mn pesos (US$39.6mn), down 9.6% from the same period in 2012. The year-over-year profit decrease is attributed to Asur's minority participation in the operation of the Luis Muñoz Marín airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In February, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Mexican consortium Aerostar Airport Holdings', composed of Asur and New York-based Highstar Capital, with a 40-year lease to operate the Luis Muñoz Marín airport. Asur's Cancún airport made a US$118mn capital contribution to Aerostar during the quarter, affecting the company's net profit, according to a results report from Asur. Asur reported total revenues of 1.37bn pesos, a 6.9% year-over-year increase, due to a growth in aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues of 7.2% and 7.8%, respectively. Ebitda was up 10.8% at 917mn pesos for the quarter, partly due to the recovery of costs associated with the Puerto Rico tender. Total passenger numbers were up 8.53%, with Asur's nine airports handling 5.54mn passengers during the quarter. Despite the decrease in year-over-year profits, "Asur presented good results, in line with our expectations," according to a report from local analysts, Monex. However, Monex notes that commercial revenues per passenger fell 0.54%, "which could signal a deceleration of commercial revenues in the operator's main airports," and if this tendency continues it could affect the company's performance in the coming quarters. For the company's full results report, in Spanish, go to this link