Higher lease rates at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which is now under San Miguel Corp.’s New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC), are starting to affect the financial health of maintenance, repair and overhaul service provider Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP), a unit of Lucio Tan Group’s MacroAsia Corp.
Pressure is being exerted on LTP’s margins after its lease was increased 11 times to P710 per square meter, according to Maybank Securities, a unit of the regional financial services group.
The new lease rate is up from the original P64 per sqm.
Management expects to absorb the increase with an impact on profitability in the low teens, easing concerns over cost pass-through, and LTP will continue its NAIA operations to serve existing clients, ensuring a stable transition with its five hangars and nine apron slots.
Maybank’s report cited a “worst-case” scenario, which could raise LTP’s operational expenses by 130 percent. Nine-month 2025 earnings met expectations, but the fourth quarter is expected to show weak financial results. Management reaffirmed that LTP can still sustain 10 percent of its margins, easing market concerns.
With its NAIA operations and its long-term strategy intact, MacroAsia’s joint venture in Cebu for airline and institutional clients, scaled-up ground handling contracts with Air India and Air Canada across 22 airports, and Clark heavy base maintenance expansion will continue, according to Maybank.
Maybank said that by solidifying the Clark hub strategy, LTP is positioning Clark as its future aviation hub, benefiting from its location within a four-hour flight radius of major cities.
The company plans to build an P8-billion second hangar on a two-hectare lot capable of accommodating two Airbus A380s to meet MRO demand beyond the fully constrained NAIA.