The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has had a sluggish start to this week's trading. The ASX 200 finished the day down by 0.16% at 7,292 points. But the Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD) share price isn't doing too much better.
Sydney Airport shares closed the day at $8.57 each. That's what they opened at this morning. This infrastructure company has been at the centre of the ASX investing world for the past few weeks, as the future of the company is wrangled out.
A fortnight ago, investors got the news that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had given the takeover offer from the Sydney Aviation Alliance the green light. Sydney Aviation Alliance (made up of several institutional investors including QSuper and IFM Australia) has bid $8.75 per share for Sydney Airport.
That's an offer which the company has already recommended shareholders vote in favour of. This means that Sydney Airport is one step closer to delisting from the ASX boards and 'going private'.
Image source: Getty Images
November traffic update highlights Sydney Airport's ongoing struggle
But today, we got some other news out of the company which could be affecting its pre-Christmas trading. Sydney airport released its traffic performance update for the month of November this morning. And it makes for some interesting reading.
The company reported that its total passenger traffic for November 2021 was 498,000 passengers. That remains down 86.7% from the same month in 2019. Domestic patronage fell 82.9% against that benchmark to 407,000, while international travellers were down 93.3% at 91,000.
The company also said that the first 15 days of December show an 86% reduction in traffic compared to 2019, with the domestic figure down 69%.
The Airport also commented on its outlook from here:
The outlook for passenger traffic remains subdued due to tightly controlled inbound international travel, entry requirements and restrictions into key overseas markets, and the impact of the Omicron outbreak.
Perhaps shareholders who have already voted in favour of Sydney Airport's takeover won't be too concerned over these numbers. But it still highlights the ongoing issues that ASX travel companies like Sydney Airport are continuing to face.
At the current Sydney Airport share price of $8.57, this company has a market capitalisation of $23.12 billion. The company hasn't paid a dividend since February 2020.
