The State stock portfolio is going like a motorcycle. Not only due to the revaluation of the shares of its main investees, but also due to the improvement in dividend income received from these companies, among others, Aena, Airbus, Caixabank, Redeia, Indra, Enagás, Ebro Foods and IAG. The coalition government led by Pedro Sánchez, PSOE candidate for re-election, along with Yolanda Díaz, head of the Sumar list, will pay almost all of the dividends scheduled for 2023 before the appointment with the polls on July 23.
The increase in this item of income will be 130%, up to 874 million euros, in the progressive return to normality of shareholder remuneration. Last year only 378 million of these 8 groups entered. Only IAG (Iberia, British Airways) keeps the dividend tap closed after the 2020 crisis that plunged it into losses and forced it to increase capital For its part, both Caixabank and Aena, the two large stock market investments in the state orbit , they have returned in 2023 to pay the shareholder as they used to do before the pandemic.
The improvement in the business margins of these large companies has made it possible to increase the distribution of profits to shareholders, including the State. Specifically, the bulk of the increase is due to the return of the Aena dividend after the suspension of the dividend due to prudence due to the effects of the pandemic. The airport manager has delivered 364 million euros to EnAire, a public entity, which controls 51% of the shares of the owner of El Prat and Barajas.
But the increase in dividends also comes from Caixabank, which paid 298 million euros in April to the FROB for the 17.3% that it still controls in the bank. The third entry in importance is from Redeia, which has just been produced this week. Altogether, the state SEPI will have collected 108 million euros for the 20% it has in the manager of the Spanish electricity network. Indra, for its part, has warned 66% of his remuneration and the public body will receive up to 12 million euros for 28% of the capital it controls.
A portfolio of 23,000 million
The largest increase in the collection of dividends has been followed by the increase in the value of the shares of these 8 shares held by the State through EnAire, FROB and SEPI. There are more lights but also some shadows in the evolution of these companies. 51% of Aena and 2.5% of IAG stand out with the recovery of the tourism industry with increases since January of 23.8% and 36%, respectively, up to 11,111 and 236 million euros until the close of this Wednesday July 5th.
17.3% of Caixabank has decreased by 6% after the capital adjustments that the bank has made by amortizing the shares it repurchased in 2022. The stake is now worth 4,789 million euros, while at the end of last year it exceeds 5.100 million. Similarly, Redeia depreciates 6%, to 1,644 million, while 5% of Enagás increases its valuation by 4%, to 212 million.
The European Airbus consortium, in which Spain has a minority stake with 4.2% ownership, has carved a niche for itself as one of the portfolio’s great joys. These shares have increased in value by 19%, up to 4,374 million euros, consolidating their position as the third most valuable after Aena and increasingly closer to Caixabank. The good moment in the aviation sector has boosted the demand for new aircraft for fleet renewal, raising orders for Airbus.
As a whole, the 8 shares in the State stock market have skyrocketed their valuation until July 5 by 12% so far in 2023, up to 23,153 million euros. The portfolio is at its highest since the 2020 pandemic, but it is performing somewhat worse and below the evolution since January of the Ibex 35 reference (+13.3%), which is being boosted by the great momentum registered by Inditex, whose revaluation of more than 40% exceeds the behavior of the rest of the sectors, including banking or companies linked to tourism.
