Press release

Approved Interim Financial Report as at 31 march 2022 together with the new 2022-2024 Business Plan

 

  • En-route traffic and terminal traffic increased respectively by 168.5% and 191.1% in terms of service units, compared to the first quarter 2021;
  • Revenues from operations at €147.3 million (+198.7% compared to 1Q 2021);
  • Consolidated revenues at €168.1 million (-11.1% compared to 1Q 2021);
  • Consolidated EBITDA at €15.2 million (-66% compared to 1Q 2021) and EBITDA margin at 9% due to a return to the traditional balance calculation methodology, balance which is affected by the sector’s typical seasonality with revenues linked to traffic volume (low in the winter season and max in the summer), while costs are relatively flat throughout the year;
  • The net consolidated result amounts to - €15.4 million in line with our expectation;
  • 2022-2024 Business Plan: the new Business Plan approved foreseen approximately €350 million in investments over the three-years period to be spent on innovation, digitization and training.

 

Rome, 12 May 2022 - The Board of Directors of ENAV S.p.A., in their meeting held today under the chairmanship of Francesca Isgrò, approved the Interim Financial Report as at 31 March 2022 and the new 2022-2024 Business Plan.

 

Air traffic volumes in Italy during the first three months of 2022 showed a solid increase, reaching 82.2% of the number of en-route flights managed in 2019 and measured in service units.

Air traffic in Europe grew on average by 119.2% compared to the first quarter of 2021, with Italy recording an increase of 168.5%, which confirms our country as one of those with the highest rate of recovery.

 

ENAV’s CEO Paolo Simioni stated: “Data tells us that 2022 may be the year of the sector recovery. The European authorities have provided forecasts on three possible scenarios and we are seeing that the volume of traffic on Italy and Europe is evolving through the best-case scenario. We are therefore confident that this trend will continue in the coming months as well. Although the pandemic has affected the number of flights, the ENAV Group never stopped its going ahead with all the activities required to kick-start the sector again and to renew what it is an invisible but strategic infrastructure for Italy, the sky. We are relaunching the Group to lead the future with a stronger and more innovative Company in its strategic assets: people and technology. Our airspace will no longer see only traditional aircrafts, but also remotely piloted drones, with completely different needs. ENAV must be able to meet this new traffic demand by ensuring the same levels of safety and quality that made the Company an internationally recognised model. Our strategy is based on users’ services improvement, professional growth of our people, digitization of our systems and the need to ensure long-term sustainability to guarantee a better future for the upcoming generations.”

 

En-route traffic, expressed in service units, increased by 168.5% in the first three months of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021. In detail, international commercial traffic (flights departing from or arriving at an Italian airport) recorded an increase of 263.4%. Overflight traffic (flights crossing Italian airspace without landing) showed a growth of 130.4%. Domestic traffic (flights departing from and arriving at airports in Italy) increased by 184.8%.

 

Terminal traffic, in the first quarter of 2022, showed a growth of 191.1% in service units. The increase in terminal traffic was common throughout Italy.

 

ECONOMIC-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

The first quarter 2022 financial results are not comparable with those of the first quarter 2021 due to the different balance calculation methodology applied. This year balance has been determined in line with the traditional traffic risk sharing mechanism and it is therefore conditioned by the typical air traffic seasonality where the first quarter has the lowest volume while the summer has the highest one. Last year, however, balance was determined applying an efficiency target to the actual determined costs, according to EU Regulation 2020/1627, in order to contain the effects of the pandemic. Therefore, the first quarter of 2021 results reflected the greater linearity of cost compared to traffic, deleting the usual seasonality, which shows a lower traffic and revenue volumes in the winter period compared to the summer as opposed to costs which tend to be more flat during the year.

 

Total consolidated revenues, in the first quarter of 2022, amounted to €168.1 million, a decrease of 11.1% compared to the same period in 2021, due to a lower balance recorded in the period following the increase in revenue from operating activities linked to the air traffic recovery. In the first quarter of 2022, balance had a positive impact on revenues for only €12.4 million.

 

 

Revenues from operating activities, in 1Q 2022, increased three times compared to the first quarter of 2021, reaching €147.3 million compared to €49.3 million in 1Q 2021, due to the strong recovery in air traffic. 

Revenues from the non-regulated market amounted to €6 million, an increase of €1.1 million compared to 1Q 2021, confirming the positive trend recorded in the last part of 2021.

Thanks to the initiatives aimed at improving efficiency, operating costs grew only a modest 5.9% compared to 1Q 2021 even though activities resumed to pre-pandemic levels.

 

External costs amounted to €33.6 million, an increase of 12.3%, compared to the first quarter 2021, mainly due to the increase in electricity cost, the development of orders in the non-regulated market and increased travels made by the Group’s operating personnel.

Personnel costs amounted to €125.9 million, showing an increase of 4.6% year on year, mainly due to the increase in air traffic volume that led to a return to standard operating personnel configuration. 

 

The different balance calculation methodology applied and the subsequent reduction in revenue, resulted in an EBITDA of €15.2 million, a decrease of 66%, compared to the first quarter of 2021, and an EBITDA margin of 9%.

 

The EBIT was negative for €14.2 million.

 

The ENAV Group closed the first quarter 2022 with a net loss of €15.4 million, in line with traditional pre-pandemic seasonality that sees the first quarter of the year having the lowest level of traffic volume and therefore revenue while cost follow a much more flat trend.

 

Net financial debt as at 31 March 2022 was €478.5 million, improving by €5 million compared to 31 December 2021, due to the effect of income and payment dynamics related to day-by-day operations, which produced a positive cash flow during the quarter.

 

ENAV: NEW 2022-2024 BUSINESS PLAN APPROVED AND

“FUTURE SKY 2031” LAUNCHED

 

Over one billion investments by 2031 on digital infrastructures, personnel professional growth, boost in the non-regulated business and long-term sustainability

 

 

  • Remote digital control towers;

 

  • Personnel professional growth and talent acquisition towards digital innovation;

 

 

  • Full integration in the management of drones and traditional aircraft;

 

 

  • New staff to increase technical, operational, technological and digital skills.

 

The Future Sky Strategic Plan foresees total investments, by 2031, of over €1 billion, of which over 80% in sustainable technology and outlines a strategy to modernise the operating and maintenance model, digitising systems and renewing platforms for air traffic management.

Embedded in the Future Sky there is the new 2022-2024 Business Plan, which foresees investments for approximately €350 million and is geared towards the sustainable success of the Group, by retaining safety, as a key element, and undertaking a transformation program which focuses on technology and digitization. The Plan is based on six pillars. The first three, directly linked to ENAV’s operations, focus on technological and operational excellence, digital innovation and new market positioning. The other three represent a series of across-the-board actions, intersecting the first three and focusing on people, which will enable ENAV to generate value in the long term for all stakeholders with positive impacts for the sector and the entire supply chain.

 

 

NEW SYSTEMS FOR EN-ROUTE AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT

The new operating systems envisaged by the Plan will be based on digitization, big data and artificial intelligence, essential elements to improve route planning and management, providing the best possible solutions in advance and dynamically, even in high traffic density situations or with actual scenarios that could differ from the planned ones. ENAV will be fully renewing its main airspace management system, adopting new tools including:

 

  • A new and more flexible model of organization of the airspace and of the radar control service for en-route and for approach to airports;

 

  • A new data processing and presentation system called 4Flight, based on an innovative trajectory prediction system, developed in collaboration with the French ANSP DSNA;
  • A new “Arrival Manager” system that will advise controllers on the optimum sequence for separating aircraft arriving at congested airports, thereby effectively eliminating mandatory procedures for approaches to the runway with a significant reduction of fuel consumption and a further reduction of delays.

Partnered with the increase in airspace capacity, flight efficiency and safety are the main objectives for the implementation of the new platforms, that will be fully interoperable, i.e. they will allow the sharing of operations and data in real time between the systems of various entities (Service Providers, Carriers, Airports, Military Bodies) and the different countries cooperating in the flights management.

 

  • Interoperability, at European level by 2030, will create an estimated environmental benefit of 3 million tonnes of lower fuel consumption, with a reduction of CO2 emissions of 9 million tonnes. This results is estimated to produce an economic efficiency of €15 billion.

 

REMOTE DIGITAL CONTROL TOWERS

The development and implementation of Remote & Digital Tower represents an huge opportunity, a tangible contribution that ENAV can provide and an event that will transform the entire Air Traffic Management system. It will promote the development of small airports that represent an essential network to guarantee people and goods mobility in the country.

 

  • Out of the 45 airports currently managed by ENAV, 26 will be remotely controlled by digital control towers.

Thanks to new digital systems, ENAV will be able to offer a more efficient and flexible service for managing take-offs, landings and ground handling, also facilitating the short-term needs of airport management companies without increasing costs for users.

For example, in some airports it will be possible to operate on a 24 hours basis, encouraging cargo traffic, that usually operates at night, and drastically reducing road transport for the transfer of goods from the airport to sorting hubs. In addition, the introduction of digital systems will make it possible to reduce environmental impact, also thanks to the lower utilization of civil works.

 

 

PERSONNEL PROFESSIONAL GROWTH TOWARDS DIGITAL INNOVATION

Digital transformation and modernisation of systems will enhance the skills of employees allowing professional growth of the entire Group’s personnel which will be at the centre of ENAV’s technological evolution. The implementation of the Group’s new operating model will therefore be supported by a process of development, integration, and enhancement of corporate skills. It will be mainly focused on the development of digital skills and the capacity of innovation. It foresees ad hoc training courses, the selection of some senior managers who will act as innovation “facilitators”, the development of programs focused on financial/economical skills and on drivers for technological innovation. The following will also be triggered:

 

 

 

  • New staff to increase technical, operational, technological and digital skills;

 

  • Structured job rotation/enlargement programs to allow direct experience in multiple company areas in order to expand role-related skills;

 

  • Professional training initiatives in line with the new technical and operational model.

 

FULL INTEGRATION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DRONES AND TRADITIONAL AIRCRAFT

Services for drones are a strategic asset. ENAV is already preparing for a world in which drones are common, fully accepted in our daily life, used safely to deliver services that are efficient, innovative and able to ensure a sustainable economy and the development of the sector.

 

This is a sector that will have no breaks in the coming years, and indeed is expected to continuously increase its value up to more than 34 billion dollars globally in 2026. The turnover in Italy, in 2026, is estimated to reach approximately €1 billion.

 

Future Sky targets the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles with the traditional aviation, thanks to shared airspace management systems. Services for drones will develop together with the aircraft automation, offering advanced forms of interaction with the surrounding environment, through the exchange of information and data with unmanned aerial vehicles.

 

A further strategic objective related to drones is the creation of the U-Space (unmanned space) in Italy. This airspace below 120 metres is considered the key element for the safe use of unmanned aerial vehicles in all context and for all types of missions.

 

ENAV is already present with its own company D-Flight, in partnership with Leonardo and Telespazio. D-Flight manages the only platform in Italy, one of the first in Europe, for the provision of services to remotely piloted vehicles and all other types of drones that fall into the category of unmanned aerial vehicles. D-Flight provides users with the services required by ENAC regulations for the safe use of drones.

 

 

CENTRALISED MONITORING OF ALL INFRASTRUCTURES

The reorganisation of the maintenance model involves the introduction of a Technical Operation Centre (TOC), a centralised hub for the control and monitoring of the entire ENAV hardware and software infrastructure network.

 

The TOC will enable more efficient monitoring and reduced times of intervention at all the operating structures distributed throughout the Italy. It will enhance the skills of technical personnel, reduce maintenance costs and improve the maintenance process in a predictive perspective through the advanced data analysis.

 

 

EXPANSION OF THE NON-REGULATED BUSINESS

Revenues from the non-regulated business up to date have been mainly driven by the sale of products and services of the subsidiary IDS AirNav, a company specialized in the supply, installation, and maintenance of AIMs (Aeronautical Information Management systems) and AMHSs (Aeronautical Message Handling Systems).

 

The new approach outlined in Future Sky launches the ENAV Group (already present in 100 countries) towards a fully integrated and across-the-board commercial offer through an evolved commercial approach and a strengthened communication and marketing activities.

 

As an example, the new platform for air traffic management could be marketed abroad and implemented by other service providers thanks to the development of dedicated clouds without the installation of physical networks on site.

 

ENAV aims to expand its business far beyond its current experience and export its operating and service management models in all relevant areas: from aeronautical consulting to the supply and maintenance of software systems, drone services, operational and technical training.

 

 

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES

As part of its business plan, ENAV intends to invest a total of approximately €350 million in the 2022-2024 period while considering the broader 2022-2031 Future Sky, it plans to invest over €1 billion. Investments aimed at the development and implementation of new technological platforms, the theoretical and practical training of its personnel and the modernization and transformation of certain infrastructures. In the 2022-2024 period, net revenues are expected to grow mid-single-digit with revenue from non-regulated business reaching approximately €50 million in 2024. The Group expects to increase EBITDA with high-single-digit CAGR and to achieve an EBIT margin of approximately 17% in 2024.

 

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