Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to ASUR's first quarter 2026 results conference call. My name is Sashi, and I'll be your operator. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. We will conduct a question and answer session toward the end of today's teleconference. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one. If you want to withdraw your question at any time, please press star two. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before making a selection. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. Now, Mr. David Barlow, Corporate Governance, Strategic Planning Manager, and IRO at ASUR. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you, Sashi, and thank you everyone for joining us today to discuss ASUR's results for the first quarter, 2026. With me on today's call is Adolfo Castro, Chief Executive Officer. Additional details about our results can be found in our press release, which was issued yesterday after market close and is available on our website. As usual, all comparisons discussed on this call will be year-on-year, and all figures are expressed in Mexican pesos unless specified otherwise. As a reminder, certain statements made during the call today may constitute forward-looking statements, which are based on current management expectations and beliefs and are subject to several risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including factors that may be beyond our company's control. Please refer to the forward-looking statements disclosure included in this earnings presentation for additional information.
With that, I'll now turn the call to Adolfo. Please go ahead, Adolfo.
Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. Before I begin, I would like to note that David Barlow has assumed the responsibility for investor relations. David has been with ASUR for more than 20 years and knows the company and operations very well. He attends our board of directors meeting and committee sessions. Now, let me start by framing the quarter. We expected the first quarter 2026 to reflect the period of transition for ASUR. We were operating in an environment where the traffic trends on our core Mexican market were stabilizing after a period of normalization, Puerto Rico entering a more mature phase following strong post-pandemic growth, and Colombia in a growth momentum. Recall that the first quarter for Mexico is the seasonality, the strongest.
We were negatively affected by the security-related events beginning on February 22nd, and after that, by the TSA-related disruptions in the U.S. airports, which also impacted Puerto Rico. This effect contributed to increased volatility in traffic trends, particularly toward the end of the quarter. On the positive side, we made progress on two key priorities. The first one, the integration of ASUR's U.S. airports. This makes the first full quarter of consolidation of our U.S. commercial platform. The business contributed to non-aeronautical revenues, while profitability reflects the early ramp-up operations. We expect travel improvement as the platform scales, supported by the new commercial openings in Terminal 8 and the upcoming opening of the Terminal 1 this year, both at JFK. Which will further expand the commercial base. Second, continued execution of our regional expansion strategy.
We remain focused on completing the Motiva transaction, which is now pending remaining regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. This transaction will significantly expand our footprint and reinforce our long-term growth profile. This transaction represents a step change in scale and geographic diversification, expanding our presence in new markets and further balancing our portfolio. Our strategy remains consistent, diversifying our revenue base, including a greater focus on non-regulated revenue, selecting expanding into markets with attractive long-term demand, and deploying capital in a disciplined and value-accretive manner. Let me now review ASUR's operational performance for the quarter. Total passenger traffic increased 1.9% year-on-year, reaching nearly 90 million passengers, driven by strong traffic in Colombia, stabilization in Mexico, and short-term softness in Puerto Rico. Colombia remains our fastest-growing market, with traffic up 11%, supported by increased connectivity and solid demand.
Domestic traffic growth 12%, outpacing 7% growth in international passengers. Mexico remained broadly stable, with international traffic showing modest growth while domestic traffic remained slightly below prior years' levels. Traffic in Cancún declined 2% during the quarter, while the other eight airports in Mexico grew by 5%. Positive trends in January and February were offset by weaker March. Beginning on February 22nd, traffic was affected by the security-related events in Mexico, which impacted traffic to and from the United States through mid-March. Later that month, traffic was affected by a TSA-related screening disruptions in the U.S. airports. We believe these factors were temporary and do not reflect a change in the underlying demand. As we move through the year, we expect to see difficult operating conditions, including higher fuel prices and recent capacity reductions.
Passenger volumes from the United States, our largest international source market, decreased 4.6%, while South America contracted 1.4%. On the positive note, Canada and Europe increased by 11% and 11.4% respectively. In Puerto Rico, traffic trends declined low single digits, driven primarily by domestic demand and the effects of TSA, while international traffic continued to grow. Turning now to financial performance. As a reminder, all figures exclude construction revenue and cost, and comparison are year-on-year unless otherwise noted. Total revenues increased 2.2% year-on-year, reaching MXN 8.4 billion. This performance was primarily driven by a nearly 9% increase in non-aeronautical revenues, supported by the first full consolidation of the U.S. airports, which added approximately MXN 438 million in non-aeronautical revenue during the quarter. In turn, aeronautical revenues declined low single digits, mainly reflecting the FX conversion impacts in Puerto Rico and Colombia, together with a lower traffic in Puerto Rico.
Commercial revenues increased nearly 7%, primarily reflecting the new commercial operations in the U.S. and middle single digit organic growth in Colombia. Performance in Mexico and Puerto Rico remained softer during the quarter, reflecting a combination of FX headwinds, given the strength of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar, combined with lower traffic in Puerto Rico. We continue to execute on our strategy to enhance and diversify our revenue base, with a growing contribution from non-regulated and dollar-denominated sources. The integration of the U.S. commercial platform is an important step in that direction, and while still in its early stages, it already represents an attractive addition to our portfolio. Over the past year, we also continued to actively expand our commercial footprint across the network, opening 47 new retail and service units, including 34 in Colombia, eight in Puerto Rico, and five in Mexico.
On a per passenger basis, commercial revenue increased mid-single digits to MXN 153.6, benefiting from a full quarter of operations from the U.S. commercial operations, despite the impact of the appreciation of the Mexican and Colombian pesos against the U.S .dollar and a mixed traffic environment. By geography, Puerto Rico delivered the highest levels with MXN 163.3 per passenger, despite the 5% decline driven by FX conversion and the slight reduction in traffic levels. Mexico saw a 4% decline, mainly reflecting the impact of the peso appreciation over the U.S. dollar-denominated commercial revenues. Lastly, Colombia posted a mid-single digit decline despite the strong traffic growth, reflecting FX effects and mixed effects, given higher growth domestic traffic.
Turning to operating costs, total expenses increased 25% year-on-year, mainly driven by the integration of U.S. commercial operations, higher depreciation, and amortization in Colombia, professional fees related to the U.S. acquisition, together with the ongoing inflationary pressures. Excluding these effects, underlying operating costs was moderate. By region, Mexico recorded a 6% increase in expenses. Excluding professional fees associated with the U.S. commercial acquisition, expenses would have grown just 0.9%, mainly reflecting modest increases in labor and service-related costs. In Puerto Rico, expenses declined nearly 7%, benefiting from depreciation of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar. Expenses in Colombia increased 33%, largely driven by the higher depreciation and amortization following the change in amortization methodology. Recall this change reflect expected evolution of the concession, including the phase-out of regulated revenues starting in 2027, and the remaining life of the asset through 2032.
Excluding depreciation and amortization, expenses in Colombia would have increased by just 2.6%. In the U.S., we recorded approximately MXN 368 million in operating costs during the quarter. Of these, approximately MXN 70 million related to items attributable to 2025 that were recognized in this period, including lease-related adjustments, account reconciliation items, provisions for uncollectible accounts, and prior-year employees' bonus. Moving on to profitability, consolidated EBITDA increased nearly 6% to MXN 5.4 billion in the quarter. EBITDA was lower across regions, down mid-single digits in Mexico and Colombia, high single digits in Puerto Rico, while our U.S. commercial operation posted a negative EBITDA of MXN 50 million in the quarter. The Adjusted EBITDA margin declined nearly 600 basis points to 64.1% year-on-year, mainly reflecting the ramp-up of the U.S. operations and the impact of amortization changes in Colombia I just mentioned.
Net income declined 20% year-on-year to MXN 2.8 billion, mainly reflecting higher depreciation and amortization, increased interest expenses following the recent financings, and the lower interest income. Importantly, the reported profitability of ASUR's U.S. airport this quarter is not yet indicative of the underlying earnings capacity of the business and costs associated to set up the business. As disclosed in our 20-F report, on a pro forma basis, full year consolidation, this commercial operation generated approximately MXN 2.1 billion in revenues and MXN 711 million in net income in the fiscal year 2025. In addition, the launch of the New Terminal One at JFK Airport, expected to come online during the third quarter of this year, will further support commercial revenue growth as it ramps up, further enhancing the performance of this business.
Moving into the balance sheet, we closed the quarter with cash of MXN 13.8 billion and net debt to EBITDA of 0.8x. Our balance sheet continues to prove significant flexibility to fuel growth while maintaining conservative leverage. Capital expenditures totaled MXN 544 million, primarily focused on Mexico, where our investment under the Master Development Program continued to advance, including the construction of Terminal 1 in Cancún, on track to open in the third quarter this year, which will increase capacity, improve passenger flow, and optimize commercial mix, supporting higher commercial revenues over time. Noted CapEx for the full year as per our Master Development Program totaled MXN 7.9 billion. In Puerto Rico, we remain focused on operational improvements and while capital deployment in Colombia remains limited.
At the end of March, Airplan signed an addendum to its concession agreement authorizing immediate interventions at José María Córdova International Airport to address unexpected demands, with an estimated investment of approximately COP 165 billion. The project covers a series of capacity expansions, a service level improvement works, including domestic and international check-in facilities, a departing baggage handling system, security checkpoints, remote boarding areas, and aircraft stands and immigration facilities. In summary, ASUR is becoming a more diversified platform with increasing exposure to U.S. dollar-denominated revenues and a clear visibility on key growth drivers, including the ramp-up of U.S. commercial operations and expected closing of Motiva transaction. While in the near-term traffic trends remain mixed across regions, we continue to see healthy underlying demand for air travel and remain focused on execution, cost discipline, and long-term value creation.
The final comment is that ASUR's shareholders meeting will take place at 10:00 A.M. Mexico City time today, with a proposed dividend payment of MXN 10 per share to be paid at the end of May. Now, I will open the floor for questions. Sashi, please open the floor.
Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, dial in by phone and press star and then one on your telephone keypad. Make sure your mute function is turned off, and if you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, press star, then two. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. Join the queue again if you have additional questions. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question is from Rodolfo Ramos from Bradesco BBI. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Adolfo, and David, congratulations on your new responsibilities, all the success there. I have a couple of questions. The first one is in regards to your U.S. commercial business. I'm assuming there is some level of seasonality. Can you give us a sense of how much ASUR U.S. should be contributing in EBITDA on a 12-month rolling basis, considering the new commercial space in JFK, and if you expect any material extraordinary expenses in the coming quarter as you close the Motiva acquisition? That would be my first one. The second one on traffic, and let me perhaps take a little bit of a different approach here. The Cancún-Mexico route has been an important bottleneck for you guys. Do you see a scenario where we could see a short-term pressure during the World Cup as Guadalajara-Monterrey routes are prioritized? Thank you.
Good morning. It's important to say that the current operation we have is not exactly what we will have, what we expect to have at the end of this year. Just to say, on the 21st of April, new openings took place at John F. Kennedy, Terminal 8, and we are expecting the opening of New Terminal One at the end of this year. New Terminal One today is a project that is under construction. It's a new terminal, so it's not in operation. Even if I tell you the 12-month number, it would not mean anything to give a size representation of what this business could be next year. Basically, I would say the EBITDA this year should be close to, let's say, MXN 20 million, that we will be basically investing or reinvesting in the projects we have.
In the case of the traffic Cancún, yes, you're right, Mexico City Airport is or has been a bottleneck for a while. If they are going to relocate some traffic because of the World Cup, I don't think so. Remember that the World Cup, at the end of the day, Mexico is just 13 games. The most important ones here in Mexico City, and probably there's one that is particularly important in the case of Guadalajara. Apart from that, nothing else. On the other side, I have to say that Cancún Airport is probably the only one in the world that has daily connection to the 16 venues of the World Cup. If that is a different story for some other people that lives outside Mexico.
Interesting. Thank you, Adolfo.
The next question is from Guilherme Mendes from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.
Good morning, Adolfo, David. Thanks for taking my question. A follow-up on traffic performance. Adolfo, you mentioned that the trends remain kind of mixed in the near term. If you can help us try to understand what to expect, especially in Mexico. I know there's a lot of moving parts, but it looks like some of the negative impacts of the first quarter seems to be fading away. If it's fair to assume some kind of increase in traffic on a year-by-year basis going forward. The second one is a follow-up on the Motiva's Airport. If you can share what kind of synergies or upside on the commercial front you expect to get once you integrated the business into the group platform. Thank you.
Yes, of course. Well, in the case of traffic, I have to say that in the case of Mexico's traffic, and particularly in the case of the most important source of traffic for the first quarter, which is the U.S., everything went well up to February the 22nd, and then basically collapsed. The collapse up to March 14. After that we were back on track again, and then the TSA thing appeared. I have to say that the quarter was severely affected by these two things. Going forward, the only thing I can say is Holy Week is in a different date as it was last year. Probably the beginning of April is something that we can see on the positive side. On the other side, I'm saying that we will be facing difficult operational conditions going forward, and we don't know how much.
Basically, with the oil price of $100 a barrel, it's not the best for the airlines. We have received some capacity reduction from Spirit so far, the only one. We don't know how much this is going to last. It's not an easy moment to be saying how the year's going to end up. In terms of Motiva, the word synergy is not probably the right one. They have a business that is operating well. We have some common customers, yes, it's true. The large ones, they are also in the U.S. I don't see synergy as an important piece of this operation.
Got it. Thanks, Adolfo. Have a nice day.
You're welcome.
The next question is from Anton Mortenkotter from GBM. Please go ahead.
Hi, Adolfo and David. Thank you for the call, guys. Just two quick ones. One is related to the investment in Colombia. I was wondering if this investment will trigger any amendment to concession or any maybe adjustment or any kind of compensation on that front. The second one is related to the maximum tariff. Just wondering if due to the lower, well, the peso appreciation, maybe there are some places where you are still slightly below the maximum tariff that we should see some adjustments going forward, or if you could give us some color on that one. Thank you.
Absolutely. In the case of Colombia, on March 26th, we signed an amendment to our concession agreement. That was the Otrosí 27. The importance of this document is that, once again, we are able to invest in this country. For the moment, as an emergency plan, for the case of the airport of Rionegro , this will improve the level of service there, which is really bad today. For the moment, what this document allows is to invest COP 165 million. Of course, that will be moving the day when our regulatory revenues will fade out. Far, we were expecting that to happen on February 27th. With this investment, we are making all the calculations with the current conditions, probably will be up to the end of 2027.
Again, this is giving us the opportunity to invest more and to solve some issues that we have there. We will keep you posted on how these things evolve in the future. For the moment, this is a very good news in the case of Colombia. In our maximum tariff, the objective we have for this year is 98%, and for the moment, we do not see why we should not be reaching the 98%.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
The next question is from Alberto Valerio from UBS. Please go ahead.
Morning, Adolfo. Welcome, David. Success on this new role. Adolfo, a follow-up on the maximum tariffs and also on the expenses for this quarter. Remind us how it's the methodology for maximum tariffs from the MDP on the international flights, if you can adjust later because the peso appreciated or not. Also, if you could tell us from the lease that you paid this quarter, if there is any one of those that is not recurring. We saw MXN 90 million in the Mexican airport and as well $120 million for the U.S. operations. Thank you very much.
Yes, Alberto. In the case of maximum tariff, remember the maximum tariff is an amount in pesos on a per passenger basis or on a workload unit basis that we can charge in a year. When you're saying the national traffic, that is part of the maximum tariff. If peso depreciates against the dollar, if dollar against the peso, we will have to adjust in accordance to try to reach the amount in pesos. There is no different treatment for international flights versus domestic flights. It's one basket, and it's peso-denominated. In the case of the one-time events, yes, you're right, $91 million is what we have paid as professional fees to get the U.S. acquisition. Also, I have mentioned that in the case of the U.S., we have recorded things that were related to last year.
One-time events as well of approximately MXN 70 million more.
Perfect. Very clear.
Again, if you have a question, please press star then one. The next question is from Gabriel Himelfarb from Scotiabank. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good morning. Thanks for the call. Just a quick question. Have you seen any shifts on traffic or seats or capacity from airlines, from both perhaps U.S. and domestic airlines? And what could be the outlook or the drivers for the traffic ahead? Thank you.
Hi, good morning. Well, the only shift that we have seen or we have been informed is what I just mentioned, is the case of Spirit. Spirit has decreased its capacity for the case of May in comparison of what they have scheduled before. That is the only one we have so far. As I said before, it's difficult times with the level of fuel prices we have today, and the uncertainty that we have about the situation in the Middle East. I hope that this situation in the Middle East resolves quickly and that just affects, let's say, the end of April and some pieces of May. That's it. Of course, difficult for me to say when is this going to be over.
Okay. Thank you. If I may, another questions. Perhaps in the terms of commercial revenues, what is the trend on the passenger profile? Is there lower expenditure on terminals, lower time on the terminals, or what's driving the trends on the commercial revenues?
Let me start with Puerto Rico, because we were facing difficult times. Let's say the third week of March, the TSA lines over the weekend reached 4.5 hours, plus 1 hour more for the case of the agricultural filter. You had to be there more than 6 hours before your flight. Of course, that has an impact on everything. Also on the commercial side, a lot of people lost their flights, and a lot of flights had to be rescheduled, et cetera. We are not seeing, let's say, low-spending people. It's some other effects that have been affecting the situation. The effects that I have mentioned during my call, during my initial remarks, remember last year, peso versus dollar was 20-something, and today it's 17-something. The difference was always important. It's around 14% difference.
It's very clear, and you can see that in the results of the quarter.
Okay, thank you very much.
The next question is from Andres Cardona from Citigroup. Please go ahead.
Good morning, Adolfo, David. I have one question about the EBITDA contribution of the U.S. business. You can share, how much do you expect on an annual basis from there? Thank you.
Could you repeat your question again? How much?
How much EBITDA contribution you expect from the U.S. business on an annual basis?
For the moment, what I was saying is the year so far, $30 million in EBITDA. Of course, next year should be more as a result of the opening of the New Terminal One.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
The next question is from Francisco Suarez from Scotiabank. Please go ahead.
Hey, Adolfo. Thanks for the call. David, congrats on the new appointments. The question that I have relates also with the U.S. operations. It is about excluding Terminal 1, what would be the overall occupancy rates that you see over there? And also, in a related question, what is the overall outlook, again, excluding Terminal 1, on potential increases in the overall leases that you may see there and your overall strategy to manage those assets?
Well, round numbers, I would say, Francisco, we have more than 400 contracts there. 400 units. If you see some of them, in the case of LAX, are empty, but that doesn't mean that those does not have a contract. Some of them are empty because they're in the process of being remodeled or in the process of new spaces. Basically, I would say we have all or almost all the spaces contracted.
Okay. Also if you can discuss a little bit about your overall average life on those leases and what would be the potential to see further increases in rents. Do you have any idea of how likely is to see an improvement on rents once the leases are expired?
Well, average life, basically, I would say between 15-17 years.
Okay.
I would invite you to see some news related to Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy, and you can see the new spaces that were opened recently. Those spaces were empty for a long time. Those were in a severe remodeling process. Now we have finished that piece. We are focused now on two major projects. One is, of New Terminal One. the other one we have is a new agreement that we reached with LAX last year, where we will be preparing the terminals for the Olympics in 2028. Some spaces are going to be remodeled for the Super Bowl. That is going to take place there first quarter next year. The most important event, of course, is the Olympics in 2028.
Great color, and thanks for the tip. In other words, I think that the overall tenant improvements and all these investments and the remodeling are linked towards better rents at the end of the day because you will be recovering those investments, isn't it?
Absolutely.
Fantastic. Thank you so much for the color.
You're welcome.
Again, if you have a question, please press star then one. We will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. This concludes the question and answer session of today's conference call. I would like to turn it back over to Mr. Castro for closing remarks.
Thanks, David, and thanks, Sashi. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes ASUR's first quarter 2026 results conference call. We would like to thank you again for your participation. Now you may disconnect.
Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes ASUR's first quarter 2026 results conference call. We would like to thank you again for your participation. You may now disconnect.