Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V. (OMAB) has announced the total passenger traffic for the month of March 2010.
During the month, passenger traffic slipped 2.4% year over year, with domestic passenger traffic decreasing 3.0%. However, international passenger traffic remained flat year over year.
During January, total passenger traffic declined 10.5%, with domestic traffic decreasing 12.1% and international traffic decreasing 4.2%.
During February, total passenger traffic fell 12.5% year over year. Domestic and international passenger traffic decreased 13.4% and 8.7% respectively.
The decrease is the after-effect of the global recession that took place in 2008, when oil prices reached their peak of $150 per barrel. H1N1 virus, which broke out in 2009, was another reason for the decline in passenger traffic for Mexican airlines such as OMAB.
However, currently the markets are picking up and oil prices dips to $86 per barrel. This can be a favorable situation for the entire industry and PAC in particular.
The industry has shown and is likely to show some improvements in 2010, but it will take years to recover the losses incurred in 2008 and 2009. Thus, the company will continue posting lower passenger traffic for the next couple of quarters.
Moreover, other Latin American and Chinese airline stocks will perform well in 2010 provided the overall economy continues to grow. Besides, the economic growth in emerging markets will be higher than in the developed markets. We reiterate our Neutral recommendation on the ADR.
Read the full analyst report on “OMAB”
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