Increasingly avid Austrian travellers are more frequently enjoying summer vacations again
Revised guidance: Passenger volume in the Flughafen Wien Group of only 12-13 million in the entire year 2021; nevertheless, a positive net profit of € 4 million is expected – sufficient liquidity, reduction in net debt
61.1% fewer passengers handled by the Flughafen Wien Group in H1/2021, revenue decline of 34.3%, EBITDA of € 25.2 million, net profit for the period of minus € 32.5 million
July 2021: highest passenger volume since the outbreak of the pandemic: 1.5 million passengers at Vienna Airport, close to a threefold increase compared to the crisis month of July 2020, but still 53.4% lower than pre-crisis level of July 2019 – 22,444 tonnes of air cargo close to matching cargo volume before the crisis
“Slightly positive net profit expected once again in 2021“
“Fortunately, the increasingly avid Austrian travellers are enjoying their summer vacations once again. However, in order to avoid new travel restrictions in the fall, the incentives to get vaccinated should be significantly strengthened based on making a clear distinction to those who are not vaccinated. In any case, a renewed lockdown would not be acceptable for the majority of vaccinated people and would once again stifle the nascent hope for increased tourist traffic”, says Günther Ofner, Member of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG.
“Thanks to stringent cost reduction measures and short-time work, we will once again generate a slightly positive net profit and reduce net debt in the 2021 financial year in spite of the decline in passenger traffic up until now”, Günther Ofner explains in commenting on the outlook for 2021. “July 2021 was the busiest passenger month since the beginning of the pandemic”
“The month of July was the busiest month in terms of passenger volume since the beginning of the pandemic. 1.5 million travellers represent close to three times as many passengers as July of 2020, and this positive trend also intensified in the first half of August. This gives us hope for the summer and the upcoming months. People are increasingly travelling again, and the new flight connections announced by Air Canada, EVA Air, Etihad Airways and many other carriers are proof of this. Nevertheless, we are still far from the level of pre-coronavirus passenger traffic and the next months will remain challenging. From today’s perspective, we expect about 12-13 million passengers in the Flughafen Wien Group for the entire 2021 financial year”, states Julian Jäger, Member of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG. January to June 2021: Passenger volume down 61.4% at Vienna Airport
From January to June 2021, the Flughafen Wien Group including the foreign strategic investments in Malta Airport and Kosice Airport reported a drop in the number of passengers handled by 61.1% year-on-year to a total of 2,393,631 passengers. The number of passengers at Vienna Airport fell by 61.4% from the prior year level to 1,966,593 travellers. The number of flight movements from January to June 2021 was down by 44.5% from the prior-year period to 29,455 starts and landings. The average capacity utilisation of the aircraft (seat load factor) fell from 63.9% to 52.8%. In contrast, cargo volume (air cargo and trucking) increased by 16.1% to 125,150 tonnes. Malta Airport registered a 60.3% decrease in passenger volume in H1/2021 to 403,812 travellers. Kosice Airport handled 23,226 passengers in the same period, down 54.0% from the previous year.
H1/2021: Revenue of € 128.6 million (- 34.3%) and net profit of minus € 32.5 million
Revenue of the Flughafen Wien Group in H1/2021 decreased by 34.3% to € 128.6 million. EBITDA declined by 48.4% to € 25.2 million, and EBIT fell to minus € 40.3 million. The net profit for the period before non-controlling interests in H1/2021 equalled minus € 32.5 million. The net debt of the company increased to € 222.9 million (31 December 2020: € 201.9 million). The free cash flow in H1/2021 amounted to minus € 2.2 million (H1/2020: minus € 69.0 million).
Revenue and earnings development of the segments
H1/2021 revenue of the Airport Segment fell by 49.4% year-on-year to € 42.2 million. Segment EBIT declined to minus € 40.4 million. The Handling and Security Services Segment registered a decrease in revenue of 26.5% to € 35.4 million, with the segment’s EBIT decreasing to minus € 9.3 million. This segment also includes the security services of VIAS as well as the handling services provided by Vienna Aircraft Handling (VAH) and Vienna Passenger Handling Services (VPHS). The Retail & Properties Segment reported a drop in revenue of 23.9% in H1/2021 to € 32.2 million. EBIT of this segment amounted to € 9.2 million. Revenue of the Malta Segment was down 15.5% in H1/2021 to € 12.6 million, whereas segment EBIT totalled minus € 4.2 million. Revenue of the Other Segments declined by 11.0% in H1/2021 to € 6.2 million and segment EBIT amounted to minus € 4.4 million. Investments
Total investments in the first six months of 2021 amounted to € 17.3 million. The largest investments of € 1.8 million related to Terminal 2, along with € 1.9 million for purchasing catering trucks, € 2.3 million for constructing a third baggage handling line, € 1.8 million for an access control and door control system and € 0.7 million for photovoltaic facilities. A total of € 4.0 million was invested at Malta Airport in H1/2021. Revised guidance for 2021: Passenger volume in the Flughafen Wien Group of 12-13 million and a positive net profit of € 4 million expected; sufficient liquidity and a slight drop in net debt
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the expected passenger volume of the Flughafen Wien Group in the entire 2021 financial year is expected to be at 12-13 million travellers, below the originally budgeted figures. Nevertheless, the previously predicted positive net profit for the 2021 financial year is confirmed at about € 4 million, also under these conditions. This can be attributed to considerable cost savings such as lower expenses for incentives, a decline in maintenance costs and a reduction in personnel expenses, accompanied by higher government grants related to the extension of short-time work until the end of 2021 and additional income from real estate transactions. Revenue is expected to amount to approx. € 380 million in 2021 (previous outlook of € 430 million), whereas EBITDA will likely equal about € 150 million (unchanged). Following an increase in the previous year, the net debt of the company is anticipated to decline to about € 100 million. Investments will total approx. € 60 million. Traffic results in July 2021: Highest passenger volume since the outbreak of the pandemic Flughafen Wien Group: 1,817,202 passengers in July 2021 (comparison to 2019)
In the vacation month of July 2021, the number of passengers handled by the Flughafen Wien Group (Vienna Airport, Malta Airport, Kosice Airport) equalled 1,817,202 travellers, the highest passenger volume since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. However, this still comprised a drop of 55.2% from the pre-crisis level of July 2019. Vienna Airport: Almost Tripling of passenger volume in July 2021 to 1,484,634 passengers
The number of passengers handled by Vienna Airport in the month of July 2021 almost tripled compared to the crisis month of July 2020, namely from 567,370 to 1,474,634 travellers. Nevertheless, passenger volume was still 53.4% lower than the pre-crisis level (July 2019). Air cargo volumes are increasing once again to a level only slightly lower than the pre-crisis period
The number of local passengers at Vienna Airport fell by 53.2% from the comparable figure before the coronavirus crisis (July 2019), and transfer passenger traffic declined by 53.5%. The number of flight movements was down 46.1% in July 2021. In contrast, the air cargo business is expanding once again, with cargo volume equalling 22,444 tonnes in July 2021 or only 3.9% below the pre-crisis level of July 2019. The total number of passengers at Vienna Airport flying to destinations in Western Europe was down by 49.3% in July 2021 from the pre-crisis level (July 2019), whereas Eastern European traffic decreased by 42.7%. Passenger traffic to North America declined by 66.1% compared to the pre-crisis level (July 2019), and the number of passengers flying to Africa was down by 55.6% from the comparable pre-crisis figure (July 2019). Passenger volumes to the Middle East and Far East were down by 66.9% and 95.9% respectively from the level preceding the coronavirus crisis (July 2019). Malta Airport reported a drop in passenger volume of 61.0% in the month of July 2021 compared to the pre-crisis level (July 2019), whereas the total number of passengers handled at Kosice Airport decreased by 67.9%.