According to a press release, the London Heathrow remains open and continues operating safely to help people get home and to secure vital supply lines for the UK
- Significant impact on traffic – Passenger numbers declined by 18.3% during Q1 to 14.6 million and are expected to be down by around 97% in April. We expect passenger demand will remain weak until governments around the world deem it safe to lift travel restrictions. Overall revenue fell 12.7% to £593 million and adjusted EBITDA fell by 22.4% to £315 million
- Management has responded quickly – Heathrow took immediate action to conserve cash and reduce costs by around 30%, through cutting management pay, renegotiating all contracts, and consolidating operations. Capital expenditure has been cut by £650 million
- Financial position is robust – Heathrow has £3.2 billion in liquidity, sufficient to maintain the business at least over the next 12 months, even with no passengers
- Building passenger confidence in flying – Heathrow is working with partners round the world to establish a Common International Standard for safe air travel to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Re-establishing long haul passenger flights is critical for the UK’s supply chain, exports, inbound tourism and education
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:
“Heathrow is proud to serve Britain by remaining open for repatriating UK citizens and critical supplies of PPE. When we have beaten this virus, we will need to get Britain flying again so that the economy can recover as fast as possible. That is why we are calling on the UK government to take a lead in setting a Common International Standard for safe air travel.”
| At or for 3 months ended 31 March | 2019 | 2020 | Change (%) |
| (£m unless otherwise stated) | |||
| Revenue | 679 | 593 | (12.7) |
| Cash generated from operations | 426 | 375 | (12.0) |
| Profit / (loss) before tax | 132 | (278) | (310.6) |
| Adjusted EBITDA(1) | 406 | 315 | (22.4) |
| Adjusted profit / (loss) before tax(2) | 57 | (41) | (171.9) |
| Heathrow (SP) Limited consolidated nominal net debt(3) | 12,412 | 12,472 | 0.5 |
| Heathrow Finance plc consolidated net debt(3) | 14,361 | 14,542 | 1.3 |
| Regulatory Asset Base(4) | 16,598 | 16,646 | 0.3 |
| Passengers (million)(5) | 17.9 | 14.6 | (18.3) |
| Retail revenue per passenger (£)(5) | 8.92 | 9.28 | 4.0 |
Notes
(1) Adjusted EBITDA is profit before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortisation, fair value adjustments on investment properties and exceptional items.
(2) Adjusted profit before tax excludes fair value adjustments on investment properties and financial instruments and exceptional items.
(3) Consolidated nominal net debt is short and long-term debt less cash and cash equivalents and term deposits. It includes index-linked swap accretion and the hedging impact of cross-currency interest rate swaps. It excludes pre-existing lease liabilities recognized upon transition to IFRS 16, accrued interest, bond issue costs, and intra-group loans.
(4) The Regulated Asset Base is a regulatory construct, based on predetermined principles not based on IFRS. It effectively represents the invested capital on which we are authorized to earn a cash return.
(5) Changes in passengers and retail revenue per passenger are calculated using unrounded passenger numbers
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- That is why we are calling on the UK government to take a lead in setting a Common International Standard for safe air travel.
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