The Board of Directors has today approved the interim report for the period 1 January – 30 June 2020.

Summary of the first half of 2020

Just over 5 million passengers passed through the terminals at Copenhagen Airport in the first six months of 2020, including 4.8 million in the first three months alone. As the coronavirus pandemic gradually brought global aviation to a standstill, Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH) saw passenger traffic plunge to historically low levels, especially in the second quarter. The overall passenger flow in the first six months of 2020 was 65.2% lower than in the same period of 2019, where the number of passengers was 14.4 million.

Moreover, passengers got a very different airport experience. Large parts of the terminals were closed and only a handful of the airport’s shops and restaurants were open to serve the very few passengers – on certain days fewer than 500.

Across the airport’s entire eco system, from airlines to ground handlers and the many shops and restaurants, the coronavirus pandemic has created a highly challenging and, for some companies, an existential crisis. Many of the businesses operating at the airport have had to let skilled employees go, and CPH has not been able to give passengers the travel experience they have come to expect.

Severe drop in revenue leads to an operating loss
The drop in passenger numbers had a severe effect on revenue from both the aeronautical and the non-aeronautical parts of CPH’s business. Overall revenue for the first half-year was DKK 934.8 million, a 55.5% drop from DKK 2,099.7 million in the first six months of 2019.

In order to offset the drop in revenue and the lower level of activity, CPH has reduced various operational and investment activities to an absolute minimum. Cost cuts implemented for the current year amounting up to DKK 950 million. Furthermore, in May, CPH entered into a two-year facility agreement totaling DKK 6.0 billion with a club of banks as well as waiver agreements with existing lenders, providing CPH relief from certain loan covenants until the end of June 2021; this to ensure that CPH will be able to continue to meet its financial and investment commitments.

Government support packages have partly compensated for CPH’s costs. For example, 2,200 of the company's 2,600 employees (corresponding to 1,600 full-time employees) have been furloughed with wage and salary compensation in rotation. This enabled CPH to keep the airport open during the period to accommodate the passenger and cargo traffic there was and thereby meet its obligations as critical infrastructure. However, it was far from enough to cover the substantial costs of keeping the airport operational and, as a result, CPH incurred an overall loss before tax for the period of DKK 227.9 million.

Towards the end of the reporting period, a number of travel restrictions were lifted and slowly but surely, airlines began offering more flights and travellers slowly began departing from the terminals again.

Activity at the airport has increased over the summer period, but it remains at a very low level. The slight increase in business activity will not change the fact that CPH will likely incur a second-half loss exceeding the first-half deficit, nor that CPH is funding its ongoing operations by way of a loan facility agreement entered into with a club of banks earlier this year. Given the extreme uncertainty as to when, and to what extent, air traffic will return to normal, CPH is currently managing operations on a much shorter timeframe than usual. Most likely, it will be a while before CPH recovers to pre-coronavirus levels.

Maintaining position as a popular hub airport is crucial
One of the key objectives of Copenhagen Airport is to provide maximum connectivity in and out of Denmark to the rest of the world both for the country as a whole and for Danish businesses. To that end, CPH has worked with airlines and other partners over many years to develop a solid route network in and out of Copenhagen. The coronavirus pandemic has put many of these routes on hold, and there can be no assurance that they will all return to CPH within the foreseeable future. In addition, there are prospects of increasing competition from other Scandinavian airports, including a significant increase in capacity in German Airports.

Aviation and tourism are major contributors to the Danish economy, and as both depend on comprehensive route connectivity, CPH has worked tirelessly for years to strengthen CPH’s position as an attractive hub in northern Europe. These efforts have now become even more essential, because it cannot be taken for granted that everything will return to the way it was. Many of our neighbouring airports will strive to attract the best and most attractive routes, so it is crucial that CPH continues to invest in developing the sustainable airport of the future.

The sustainable transition of aviation is just as important now as it was in pre-corona times
CPH’s ambition to continue developing CPH and creating the airport of the future is also a main driver of maintaining our strong commitment to the green transition despite the coronavirus crisis.

As part of these efforts, CPH was a key contributor to a plan, which was presented in the first half of 2020, on how Danish aviation can become a zero-emissions industry by 2050. Earlier this year, the Aviation Climate Partnership presented a proposal which, in addition to a specific road map for making Danish aviation sustainable, also called for the establishment of a climate foundation.

Subsequently, CPH teamed up with a number of major Danish businesses, including Orsted, A.P. Moller-Maersk, SAS and DSV along with the City of Copenhagen, and announced that they had formed a new, unique partnership to launch the production of sustainable fuels for road, maritime and air transport. Together with the other partners of the initiative, CPH is currently planning the roll-out of the initial phase of the project, which is to establish an electrolyser and hydrogen production facility in the Greater Copenhagen area, expected for operation by 2023.

The extent and duration of the coronavirus crisis is uncertain, but the climate challenge is something CPH as a business and society in general will have to solve over the next many years. The responsibility weighing on CPH to make the transport sector sustainable is as heavy today as it was before the coronavirus pandemic.

Highlights

• The number of passengers at Copenhagen Airport was 5.0 million in the first six months of 2020, a 65.2% drop from the same period last year that was due to the coronavirus crisis. The number of locally departing passengers was 2.0 million (66.1% fewer than last year), while transfer and transit passengers numbered 0.5 million (65.7% fewer than last year).
   
• Revenue amounted to DKK 934.8 million (2019: DKK 2,099.7 million), a 55.5% decline from last year primarily due to the coronavirus crisis.
   
• EBITDA was similarly affected and amounted DKK 257.5 million (2019: DKK 1,132.4 million), corresponding to a 77.3% decline from last year.
   
• EBIT was a loss of DKK 162.7 million (2019: DKK 682.9 million profit), corresponding to a decrease of DKK 845.6 million.
   
• Net financing costs were in line with the same period of last year.
   
• Profit before tax fell by DKK 844.9 million to a loss of DKK 227.9 million (2019: DKK 617.0 million profit).
   
• Capital investments were DKK 931.1 million in the first six months of 2020 (2019: DKK 1,083.1 million). Investments in the first six months of the year included the expansion of Terminal 3, the completion of Pier E, construction of a multi-storey car park, new baggage facilities, various IT systems as well as miscellaneous improvement and maintenance work.

Outlook for 2020

The travel restrictions and closing of borders imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic have dealt a severe blow to the aviation industry. Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH) has also been affected with passenger traffic reduced to a historical low level. Due to the widespread uncertainty about air traffic in Denmark and the rest of the world caused by this health crisis, it has been extremely difficult to assess the effects of the crisis on CPH’s financial situation. As stated in the company announcement of 25 June 2020, it has now become clear, however, that the coronavirus crisis will have a significant negative impact on CPH’s revenue and earnings for 2020, and CPH now expects to incur an overall loss for the year.

Based on financial developments in 2020 to date and the prospects of very limited passenger traffic for the rest of the year, CPH expects a significant drop in revenue relative to 2019. Given the costs of keeping the airport operational, CPH now expects an overall loss after tax of DKK 450–750 million for 2020. This estimate includes the effects of various government support packages. Without them, the loss after tax would likely be in the range of DKK 700-1,000 million.

The outlook remains subject to significant uncertainty and will depend on, among other things, developments in air traffic for the rest of the year.

Maintaining tight cost management and organising operations more efficiently
As stated in the company announcement of 25 June 2020, CPH has implemented a number of operational cost cuts amounting up to DKK 250 million in 2020. In addition, current projects and investments in CPH’s investment programme put on hold or postponed are expected to produce CAPEX savings of up to DKK 700 million in 2020.

CPH continues to apply the Danish government’s wage and salary compensation scheme, as some 2,200 employees – equivalent to 1,600 full-time positions – have been furloughed with partial compensation for CPH’s wage expenses. However, the compensation scheme has been far from enough to cover the costs of keeping the airport operational.

Accordingly, CPH will remain focused on aligning the airport’s costs and operations with expected developments in passenger traffic going forward.

In order to secure its long-term competitive strength, CPH expects to align its organisation to the lower level of activity the aviation industry is currently experiencing as a result of the coronavirus crisis and which expectedly will continue for some time. As a result, CPH is contemplating removing 650 of the some 2,600 full-time positions at the airport. A company announcement released on 5 August 2020 provides more detailed information on these plans

P.O. Box 74
Lufthavnsboulevarden 6
2770 Kastrup, Denmark

Tel.:  +45 3231 3231
Email: cphweb@cph.dk
www.cph.dk

Attachment

• H1 2020 Announcement to the Copenhagen Stock Exchange