Air France-KLM Q2 results: Increased operating result and improved passenger unit revenue

RESULTS AS AT 30 JUNE 2019

Increased operating result and improved passenger unit revenue

SECOND QUARTER 2019

• Passenger growth +5.1% and load factor +1.3 point.
• Passenger unit revenue up by 0.8%.
• Unit costs decrease by -2.3% at constant currency and fuel.
• Operating result at 400 million euros, up 54 million euros compared to the second quarter of 2018 hit by Air France strikes¹, and reflecting unit cost improvement partly offset by an increased fuel bill.
• Further reduction in Group net debt, down 466 million euros to 5.7 billion euros and net debt/EBITDA ratio at 1.4x, an improvement of -0.1pt compared to 31 December 2018.

OUTLOOK 2019

Based on the current data for the Passenger network:

• Long-haul forward booking load factors from August to December are on average ahead compared to last year.
• Network passenger unit revenue at constant currency expected to be stable versus last year for the third quarter of 2019.

Full-year guidance update:

• The Group will pursue initiatives to reduce unit costs, with a targeted 2019 reduction of between -1% and 0% at constant currency and fuel price.
• The 2019 fuel bill is expected to increase by 550 million euros compared to 2018 to 5.5 billion euros, based on the forward curve of 26 July 2019.
• Net debt/ EBITDA ratio below 1.5x.

Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM Group, said: “In a challenging environment, Air France-KLM Group posted a robust second quarter. The slight increase in passenger unit revenue that we had anticipated, together with continued execution in unit cost reduction, enabled us to more than offset rising fuel costs. These elements, combined with satisfactory long-haul forward booking trends lead us to confirm our guidance for 2019. At the same time, we continue to implement our strategic vision focused on reducing costs and making our Group more robust in the very competitive marketplace in Europe. We have also made key decisions on the renewal of our fleet to transition to cleaner aircraft in order to support a more environmentally responsible operation, including the order of sixty Airbus A220s for short- and medium-haul and the accelerated phasing out of ten Airbus A380 to be replaced by more modern fuel-efficient aircraft.”

¹ The Air France strike had a -€260 million impact on the second quarter operating result and a -€335m impact on the half-year operating result

31 July 2019