Avolta, the giant that operates duty-free shops in airports, achieved its best turnover in Spain in eight years in 2024, the year in which it returned to profit after the losses suffered in 2023.
This is reflected in the annual accounts of World Duty Free Group SL, the company that manages Avolta’s activities in the Spanish market, previously called the Dufry group, and which at the end of 2023 merged with another of the large operators in the sector, Autogrill, to then change its current name.
This company closed the 2024 financial year with a turnover of 913.2 million euros, 11% more than the previous year, and the highest value since 2016. Last year’s turnover is, moreover, 19% higher than that recorded in 2019, the year before the pandemic, which caused the closure of air traffic and a significant hole in the business of these operators.
As indicated in its management report, 2024 was the first full year in which World Duty Free operated under the new contract with Aena, which in 2023 awarded it the management of duty-free shops in 15 airports for a period of 12 years, and with the possibility of three extensions of one year each. This allows it to control about 95% of these activities at the country’s airports.
Specifically, in 2024, 78 stores operated in the 15 Spanish airports, of which 34 in Madrid-Barajas and another 15 in El Prat in Barcelona. The total figure represents an increase of 17 establishments compared to the previous year.
The airport manager was awarded four lots: Mediterranean and South; that of the Balearic Islands; and the two flagships, Madrid-Barajas and Catalonia, which includes El Prat, Girona and Reus. The contract came into force on November 1st, and therefore remained in force throughout 2024. The contract, the company explains in its management report, “involved an intense transformation phase that went from the redefinition of our commercial offer to the infrastructure of all sales points”. This new proposal included the renovation of 31 establishments and the opening of 17 new ones, including a Real Madrid outlet or the luxury cosmetics company Charlotte Tibury, owned by Puig, both in Barajas. The company estimates the total investment at 74.5 million euros.
Despite the strong improvement in revenues, Avolta’s Spanish branch recorded an operating loss of 50 million, after recording a 16% increase in personnel costs, increasing the workforce by almost 400 people; and above all in the rents and fees paid to Aena for the management of the shops. This represents an expense of 466.5 million euros, 22% more.
Wolrd Duty Free SL ended 2024 with a net profit of 74.7 million, against a loss of 13.2 million in 2023. A result that can be explained by the increase in dividends received from investee companies.
