Still overwhelmed by the pandemic, the Air France-KLM airline group announced on Thursday that it had suffered a new heavy loss of 1.5 billion euros in the first quarter, and is counting on the summer to begin to climb back up.
Persistent travel restrictions resulted in a 73.4% drop in the number of passengers and 57% in revenue, to 2.2 billion euros, compared to the first quarter of 2020, the group said. Franco-Dutch in a press release.
Read also: The State's new plan to save Air France
The second quarter, so far, “has
not shown any significant improvement
” in activity, said CFO Frédéric Gagey during a press conference call, hoping for a “
restart
” during the summer.
Hard-pressed and heavily in debt, Air France-KLM was recapitalized last month with help from the French state, which doubled its stake from 14.3% to 28.6%.
The new drop in passenger traffic during the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period of 2020, reflects the continued border closures in the face of Covid-19.
Air France-KLM, which normally operates a large long-haul network like its competitors Lufthansa and IAG (British Airways, Iberia), is very vulnerable to this.
Anticipating the activity remains "
difficult
"
The group, whose airlines Air France, KLM and Transavia deployed in the first quarter 48% of their capacity (in available seat-kilometers) for the same period of 2019, before the pandemic, will slightly increase them in the second quarter, to 50 %.
In the third quarter, which includes the crucial summer period, "
the group forecasts a capacity in available seat-kilometers of between 55% and 65% compared to 2019
", detailed Air France-KLM in its press release.
But anticipating the activity remains "
difficult
", because travelers book late due to health uncertainties, conceded Frédéric Gagey.
Despite the progress of vaccination campaigns, in particular in the United States, Israel and Europe, "
we are not yet in a situation where everyone travels freely, it will obviously still take many months before reaching a situation that could be compared to that of 2019,
”he stressed.
No liquidity crisis
In 2020, the pandemic caused the group to lose 7.1 billion euros, burdened by fixed costs, including its fleet of devices, despite an all-out savings plan including significant workforce reductions and the withdrawal of the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747. The net loss published Thursday is greater than that estimated by analysts compiled by Bloomberg, who expected it at 1.1 billion.
The aid operation concluded on April 21 resulted in the conversion into quasi-equity of three billion euros of loans granted by the French State at the start of the crisis.
Air France-KLM had completed two days earlier a capital increase of just over one billion euros, including 593 million provided by the French state.
"
No risk of a cash crisis
" in the medium term
The group saw its net debt at the end of March worsen by 1.5 billion euros compared to the end of December, to 12.5 billion, but the April operation will reduce it by four billion, added Frédéric Gagey.
The latter wanted to be reassuring about the financial situation of the group, which at March 31 had 8.5 billion euros in liquidity and lines of credit: there is "
no risk of a cash crisis
" in the medium term. , he insisted.
On the other hand, the group will have to take new measures to strengthen its balance sheet, and in particular to lower its debt. Several resolutions allowing directors to launch new capital issuance operations will be put to a vote at the general meeting of shareholders on May 26. The objective for 2023 remains to have a net debt that does not exceed double the gross operating surplus: this ratio is an indicator scrutinized by investors because it reflects the ability of the company to honor its debts. .