MILAN – The Board of Directors of Autogrill S.p.A. has reviewed and approved the consolidated results at 31 December 2019, including the consolidated Non Financial Information Declaration 2019.
Consolidated revenue amounted to €4,996.8m in 2019, an increase of +6.4% at current exchange rates1 (+3.5% at constant exchange rates) compared to 2018 (€4,695.3m). Like for like revenue grew 3.1%, driven by airports.
Underlying EBITDA amounted to €849.5m in FY2019 (17.0% margin on revenue). Underlying EBITDA excluding the impact of IFRS16 (from now on “excluding IFRS16”) was of €462.9m in FY2019, 9.3% margin on revenue (€416.7m in FY2018, 8.9% margin on revenue) was mainly driven by strong margin expansion in Europe
Underlying EBIT reached €228.2m in FY2019 (4.6% margin on revenue). Underlying EBIT excluding IFRS16 equalled €198.0m in FY2019. The company reported a 4.0% margin on revenue (€179.8m in FY2018, 3.8% margin on revenue), up by 10.1%1 despite increasing D&A
Net result reached €205.2m in FY2019 − Net result excluding IFRS16 were at €236.8m in FY2019, benefitting from the net capital gain from the disposal of the Canadian motorway business and the Czech Republic business4 (€68.7m in FY2018).
Autogrill also highlighted that:
- FY2019 guidance fully met
New contract wins and renewals worth €2.8 billion5 overall in FY2019
Acquisition of Pacific Gateway with 51 points of sale in 10 US airports
2020 outlook
- The COVID-19 has developed since the second half of January, leading to a rapid deterioration worldwide in February, affecting air travel as well as broadening to specific countries where the impact has been more acute
- This outbreak is evolving rapidly and the potential developments are extremely hard to predict
- Significant measures to safeguard employees’ health and safety have been taken by Autogrill Group
- In response to the slowdown in revenue, a number of specific actions to mitigate the COVID-19 impact have been implemented or started in the countries in which the Group operates (including opening hours, PoS management and optimization, G&A cost control)
- A task force is in place to monitor and react to the evolving situation on a daily basis
Trading update at the end of the first week of March 2020
- International (13% of Group revenue): sharp decline in traffic in China and Vietnam (1.5% of Group revenue) since late January. During the first week of March, the outbreak resulted in a general weakness of the air traffic − Negative impact on revenue of approximately €5-10m, mainly in China and Vietnam
- Italy (20% of Group revenue):
- Before 22nd February 2020: strong revenue performance
- After 22nd February 2020: revenue impacted by severe traffic drop, store closures in a few locations and restrictions on high-margin bar counter service as well as on the overall network
- Negative impact on revenue of approximately €10-15m
- Given the strong results posted by Autogrill Italy in 2019, the Group will invest in 2020 €60m capex to revamp the Italian motorway network and to support future growth. This initiative will drive significant long-term value
- North America (53% of Group revenue): limited impact so far mostly due to a reduction in international flights. In case of additional traffic restrictions, local management is already defining an action plan to deal with the situation and protect profitability
- Negative impact on revenue of approximately €5m, concentrated mostly in the last two weeks
- Rest of Europe (14% of Group revenue): minor impact so far
- The consolidated negative impact on Group revenue caused by COVID-19 is estimated to be of approximately €25-30m at the end of the first week of March 2020
Autogrill – Guidance and dividend
- Given the ongoing uncertainty on the potential impact and duration of COVID-19, Autogrill Group FY2020 guidance will be released once the scenario is more stable
- In view of this uncertainty, the Board of Directors has taken a prudent approach and proposed not to distribute a dividend, and to allocate the net profit for the year as retained earnings
- The Group remains committed to drive the business in a way that builds value for the long term
