EANS-Adhoc: Austrian Airlines AG
Financial Results of the Austrian Airlines
Group for the First Half-Year 2009
ad-hoc disclosure transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
6-month report
04.08.2009
Economic crisis affects revenue and earnings
. Net result for the period amounts to minus 166.6 million Euro, due to
impairment losses on aircraft
. Performance of the second quarter better than first quarter, but still
below expectations
. Cash flow from operating activities at 21.2 million Euro is positive,
liquidity is assured
. Cost reduction measures and integration in the Lufthansa Group will lead
to a positive earnings contribution of 300 million Euro annualyThe crisis in the international aviation industry intensified further in the
second quarter of 2009. This development is also reflected in the financial figures of the Austrian Airlines Group for the first half of 2009, which posted a net result for the period of minus 166.6 million Euro, including non-cash impairment losses of 74.3 million Euro resulting from the valuation of aircraft. The adjusted resulting from operating activities (EBIT) amounted to minus 88.4 million Euro, with the second quarter EBIT of minus 18.1 million Euro perceptibly better than the first quarter, at minus 70.3 million Euro. Nevertheless, there was still no return to the profit zone.
"We are suffering from extremely weak demand, similar to the situation affecting the entire airline sector," according to the members of the Austrian Executive Board Peter Malanik and Andreas Bierwirth. "The crisis has relentlessly revealed our weaknesses. Of course we cannot be satisfied with the half-year results. It is not very comforting to know that the entire aviation industry is standing with its back against the wall. We are fighting with all the means and energy at our disposal to overcome the crisis and massively improve profitability through structural measures. For the time being, tough countermeasures enabled us to significantly reduce our operating losses for the second quarter of the 2009 financial year," the two board members add.
This tendency is also reflected in the development of the operating cash flow. Following a negative cash flow of minus 13.8 million Euro in the first quarter 2009, Austrian Airlines succeeded in generating a positive cash flow of 35.0 million Euro in the second quarter of 2009. On balance, the cash flow from operating activities for the first half-year was 21.2 million Euro. As at the balance sheet date of June 30, 2009, the liquidity of the Austrian Airlines Group totaled about 180 million Euro (consisting of 84.1 million Euro cash and cash equivalents and 95.5 million Euro disposable securities). The Austrian Airlines Group has sufficient liquidity also beyond the end of 2009, even if the economic situation does not improve.
Initial successes were achieved in the first half of 2009 by the comprehensive range of measures initiated by Austrian Airlines to overcome the crisis and increase profitability. The anti-crisis package developed in recent months has been successively implemented, and will unfold its full potential in the second half of the year. We expect to achieve the targeted cost savings of 15 percent for the year 2009 as a whole on the basis of prevailing aircraft fuel prices.
The short-term measures to reduce costs will be consequently substituted by sustainable measures. Thus we will reach a positive earnings contribution of more than 300 million Euro per year on a medium-term basis. In this regard, the sustainability package will continually reduce the costs by 200 million Euro per year. The reduction of the personnel expenditure by 150 million Euro for the period 2010 to 2015 leads to a further cost reduction of about 25 million Euro per year. In addition, Austrian Airlines will enormously benefit from the integration in the Lufthansa Group, in terms of both revenue and costs: The management anticipates an earnings effect of 80 million Euro annually already starting in the year 2010. The board members Bierwirth and Malanik add: "The cooperation within the Lufthansa Group will massively benefit us. We expect a significant impetus to growth by being able to access Lufthansa's international route and sales networks. This will help a great deal, in the light of our strong focus on the transfer business. And naturally we will be able to exploit considerable synergies in terms of costs."
Key figures at a glance:
|EURm |1-6/2009|1-6/2008|+/- %|4-6/2009|4-6/2008 |+/- %| |Revenue |934.6 |1,194.7 |-21.8|495.8 |669.4 |-25.9| |Operating revenue |969.3 |1,226.2 |-21.0|514.6 |682.8 |-24.6| |Operating expenses |1,130.9 |1,256.1 |-10.0|599.2 |659.9 |-9.2 | |EBITDAR1,2 |49.9 |133.6 |-62.6|58.1 |106.8 |-45.6| |EBITDAR1,2 adjusted3 |48.8 |141.3 |-65.5|50.3 |106.6 |-52.8| |Result from operating |activities (EBIT)2 |-161.6 |-29.9 |- |-84.6 |22.9 |- | |Result from operating |activities (EBIT2) |adjusted3 |-88.4 |-22.2 |- |-18.1 |22.7 |- | |Financial result |-14.6 |-18.8 |22.3 |-3.8 |-3.2 |-18.8| |Result before tax |-177.2 |-40.3 |- |-89.1 |20.1 |- | |Net result for the period|-166.6 |-48.7 |- |-78.5 |11.7 |- |
1 Result from operating activities (EBIT) before associates, depreciation and rentals. 2 The expected income from plan assets was reclassified from personnel expenses to financial expenses. 3 Adjusted by the result from the disposal of assets, other costs related the transfer of aircraft, foreign currency valuations at the reporting date and impairment of the value of aircraft.
Please find our detailed Austrian Airlines Group Half-year Financial Report (January-June 2009) on the Internet at http://www.austrianairlines.co.at/eng/Investor/reports/
Owner, Editor, Distributor: Austrian Airlines AG, Corporate Communications public.relations@austrian.com. Please find further information concerning the disclosure according to §§ 24 and 25 Media Act on www.austrian.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
Further inquiry note:
Austrian Airlines
Corporate Communications
Martin Hehemann
Tel.: +43/5/1766-11231
Austrian Airlines
Investor Relations
Thomas Krammer
Tel.: +43/5/1766-13311
Branche: Air Transport
ISIN: AT0000620158
WKN: 875224
Index: WBI, ATX Prime
Börsen: Wien / official market