“Aeroporti di Roma, covid costs 143.4 million euros: ‘Recovery of traffic uncertain and still very long'”
“The board of directors approved the draft financial statements and the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2020, and the numbers are dramatic: “Impossible to predict with certainty the time to restore pre-pandemic traffic volumes”
Aeroporti di Roma, budget closes with 143 million losses: forecasts 2021
Dramatic budget for Aeroporti di Roma, the company headed by Atlantia that manages Fiumicino and Ciampino airports, after a year of coronavirus outbreak.
The company’s board of directors approved the draft financial statements for the year and the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2020, confirming a drastic decrease in traffic, passengers and – obviously – also profits. And announcing that to date “it is not possible to predict with certainty the timing of the restoration of pre-pandemic traffic volumes”.
Some numbers: compared to 2019, in 2020 air traffic fell by 76.8%, with only 11.5 million passengers transited at Fiumicino Rome airport and Ciampino. To recover slightly in the summer the domestic segment – flights, that is, in Italy – which fell “only” 67.5% compared to 2019, while the EU and non-EU segments recorded a -77.1% and – 84.2%.
For Aeroporti di Roma, the trips practically zeroed out by the pandemic translated into a reduction in revenues of more than 72%, about 681 million euros less than the previous year, losses that the company tried to stem by cutting 100 million in expenses. In order to do so, terminals and boarding areas that were not fully utilized were closed, activities were reorganized and a voluntary redundancy incentive plan was activated for those nearing retirement age, with bonuses and recruitment reduced to zero and contractual conditions with the group’s main suppliers renegotiated.
The numbers remain staggering: the operating result of Aeroporti di Roma, at the end, is negative 123.6 million euros with a decrease of 552.5 million euros compared to 2019, the year closes with a loss of 143.4 million euros compared to a profit of 245.2 million euros recorded in 2019. The 2020 budget will be submitted to the shareholders’ meeting for approval, and the plan is to cover losses using “available equity reserves.”
Covered the losses of 2020, however, 2021 announces itself if possible even more complex: “Due to the prolongation of the pandemic from covid-19 and the impacts of the consequent containment measures on mobility and the propensity to travel, it is not possible to predict with certainty the timing of the restoration of pre-pandemic traffic volumes,” they reiterated by the company, recalling that at the end of February 2021 was already recorded a -89% compared to the values of the previous year.
“Assuming a gradual easing of restrictive measures to mobility starting from the summer months also in conjunction with the progress of vaccination campaigns – explain from Aeroporti di Roma – it is estimated that the 2021 financial year can still have a performance similar to that of the financial year that has just ended. The timeframe for an appreciable resumption of activity is still very uncertain and in any case long”.