AEGEAN Reports €228m Loss in 2020 Due to Covid-19

Photo source: AEGEAN

Greek airline company Aegean Airlines has reported losses of 228 million euros for the whole of 2020, as it carried only 5.1 million passengers, 65 percent less than in 2019.

“The resurgence of the pandemic and the renewed restrictive measures imposed in Europe and in Greece, heavily impacted the Group’s activity and load factors in the fourth quarter,” the company said on Monday in an announcement on its financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year 2020.

According to AEGEAN, during Q4 2020, sectors flown were 61 percent lower than 2019 while passenger traffic was lower by 77 percent and revenues by 74 percent. For the two-month period of November/December, when essential travel restrictions were applied to the domestic market, the traffic decline exceeded 85 percent.

Including the fourth quarter, revenues for the full year reached 415,1 million euros compared to 1,3 billion in 2019, while the Group carried 5,17 million passengers, a 65 percent reduction from the 15 million passengers carried in 2019.

Source: AEGEAN

The company said that for the nine-month period from April, following the inception of the pandemic to the end of the year, revenues and passenger traffic recorded a decrease of 76 percent, while load factor fell from 85 percent in 2019 to 62 percent in 2020.

For the full year, net losses before taxes reached 296,8 million euros while net losses after taxes reached 227,9 million euros compared with 106,7 million euros profit before taxes and 78,5 million euros after taxes in 2019.

AEGEAN took immediate actions to effect costs savings, manage capital expenditures and to strengthen liquidity in response to the crisis.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at 478,4 million euros on December 31, 2020.

Gradual recovery expected in H2 2021

Commenting on the results, AEGEAN CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis said that 2020 was certainly the most difficult year in aviation history.

AEGEAN CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis.

“From the onset of the crisis we have worked diligently to manage the challenges of this special period. We continue to work to further enhance our resilience and competitiveness but also to develop new services for our passengers to be more effective once restrictions are gradually lifted,” Gerogiannis said, adding that the completion of the upcoming share capital increase is another important step in the process.

Gerogiannis underlined that the first months of 2021 are heavily impacted by restrictions imposed all over Europe during the second lockdown, already in effect for six months.

“We expect gradual but significant recovery in H2 2021 and onwards, provided that the recently improved vaccination rate continues, and the EU digital green passport is implemented successfully no later than the end of June,” he said.

AEGEAN expects the delivery of its 4th A321 neo, 9th Airbus A320 neo family delivery, in May, within a total delivery plan of 46 new aircraft extending to 2026.