Interim Update

RNS Number : 3454A

DP Aircraft I Limited

28 May 2019

 

28 May 2019

 DP AIRCRAFT I LIMITED (the "Company")

INTERIM UPDATE

The Company is issuing this report for the period from 1 November 2018 to 30 April 2019 as an investor update. It should not be relied on by Shareholders, or any other party, as the basis for an investment in the Company or for any other purpose.

Overview

DP Aircraft I Limited, a Guernsey based company, was launched in October 2013. To date the Company has acquired four Boeing 787-8 aircraft, with two leased to Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and two leased to Thai Airways International PCL. The Company took over the Norwegian aircraft, LN-LNA (previously EI-LNA) and LN-LNB (previously EI-LNB), on 9 October 2013 and the Thai aircraft, HS-TQC and HS-TQD, on 18 June 2015. Since these dates all lease obligations have been met in full by Norwegian and Thai, an update on the current status of the aircraft is noted in the update below.  

To date the Company has, paid out 21 dividends of 2.25 cents each. The Company pays out dividends on a quarterly basis and targets a yearly distribution of 9 per cent. The last interim dividend payment was paid on 16 May 2019. The quarterly distributions are targeted for February, May, August and November in each year.

Company Information

Ticker	DPA
Company Number	56941
ISIN Number	GG00BBP6HP33
SEDOL Number	BBP6HP3
Traded	SFS
SFS Admission Date	4 October 2013
Share Price	USD 1.00 (30 April 2019)
Country of Incorporation	Guernsey
Current Shares in Issue	209,333,333 Ordinary Shares
Administrator and Company Secretary	Aztec Financial Services (Guernsey) Limited
Asset Manager	DS Aviation GmbH & Co. KG
Auditor and Reporting Accountant	KPMG
Corporate Broker	Canaccord Genuity Limited
Aircraft Registration (Date of Delivery)	LN-LNA (28 June 2013) LN-LNB (23 August 2013) HS-TQC (29 October 2014) HS-TQD (9 December 2014)
Manufacturer Serial Number	MSN 35304 MSN 35305 MSN 36110 MSN 35320
Aircraft Type and Model	B787-8
Lessees	Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA Thai Airways International PCL
Website	www.dpaircraft.com

The Aviation Market - Overview and Development

2019 is expected to be the tenth year in a row of airline profits according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The organisation expects USD 35.5 billion of total net profits worldwide. Overall revenues are expected to increase by 7.7 per cent and the average fuel price is anticipated to be lower than in 2018. However, the impact of the decrease will be delayed due to extensive fuel hedging by many airlines and the share in total operating costs is expected to slightly increase from 23.5 per cent to 24.2 per cent. Consumers will benefit from increasing numbers of destinations, frequencies and stability in air fares. In early April 2019, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its expectation of global growth. It now projects real global GDP to increase by 2.7 per cent in 2019 (2018: 3.1 per cent) and 2.9 per cent in 2020 and 2021 respectively. As GDP is considered to be one of the main drivers for demand in air travel, IATA expects growth of demand to slow down to around 5 per cent in 2019 and to strengthen in 2020 again. Governments are benefitting from the air transportation sector; it is expected that tax revenues in 2019 will increase to USD 136 billion.

Airlines´ ancillary revenues are anticipated to be USD 92.9 billion in 2018 which is an increase of 312 per cent since 2010. Once a crucial revenue stream in the business model of low-cost carriers, legacy carriers´ profitability has become more and more dependent on ancillary revenues; especially in an environment of fierce competition. Besides traditional ancillary revenues such as seat reservations, baggage fees or fast-track access, additional offered products are accommodation, car hire or special pet care. Low-cost airlines generally have leaner corporate structures and are able to react faster to changes in customer needs and preferences. Legacy carriers have generally more complex booking processes in place, consequently ancillary products atop the traditional ones, can partly only be sold via the respective airlines´ website but not by travel agents or third-party websites. However, different initiatives have been launched and digital services are available to support airlines to move from selling tickets to selling a travel experience via various distribution channels. According to IATA many people enjoy highly digitised life experiences and are therefore willing to share personal information, as they believe, they may get targeted offers in return.

European airlines´ break-even load factors are the highest amongst all regions as they operate in a very competitive market and meet high regulatory costs. In 2018, capacity grew by 5.9 per cent compared to a global increase of 6.1 per cent. The passenger load factor was 84.5 per cent and above average global passenger load factor of 81.9 per cent. Airlines of the Asia-Pacific region stated a passenger load factor of 81.5 per cent and a capacity growth of 7.9 per cent. After a strong performance in January 2019, global passenger demand in February slowed to an increase of 5.3 per cent while global capacity grew by 5.4 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. Despite uncertainties regarding Brexit, European carriers stated the strongest performance since October 2018 and demand in February 2019 grew by 7.3 per cent.

The latest published Boeing Outlook (Current Market Outlook 2018-2037) raised the number of expected deliveries from 41,030 commercial aircraft with a total market value of USD 6.1 trillion to 42,730 aircraft with a value of USD 6.3 trillion within the next 20 years. Both Boeing and Airbus (Global Market Forecast 2018-2037) continue to forecast that the global passenger and freighter fleet will double by 2037. According to Airbus 37,390 commercial aircraft will be newly delivered within the next twenty years; 26,540 aircraft will be for growth while 10,850 deliveries will replace older aircraft. Boeing forecasts traffic to grow by 4.7 per cent on average.  Airbus expects that in 2037 around 85 per cent (2017: 30 per cent) of the emerging country population will travel by air. In 2018, according to IATA 1,780 new aircraft had been delivered amounting to an investment volume of USD 80 billion. Around half of the new deliveries have replaced older aircraft which - in times of high fuel costs - becomes more economic.

The Assets - Four Dreamliner Boeing 787-8s

Boeing has delivered 829 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, of which 361 aircraft are B787-8s, 444 aircraft are B787-9s and 24 are B787-10s (as at 30th April 2019). These deliveries had been made to 54 customers consisting of airlines and lessors. In 2019, two new customers of this aircraft type have placed orders: Bamboo Airways (Vietnam) and Lufthansa (Germany). The number of total orders for the B787 family now amounts to 1,441 aircraft from a total of 74 customers.

Norwegian has equipped its B787-8 fleet with a total of 291 seats, of which 32 are premium economy and 259 economy class seats. This type of aircraft is used to fly from Europe to destinations in Asia and America, amongst others, Orlando, New York and Bangkok. On 26th February 2019 and 27th February 2019 respectively, aircraft LNB and LNA were physically inspected at Copenhagen Airport. Our inspector considers the aircraft to be in good condition with no significant defects or airworthiness related issues. Technical records are scheduled to be reviewed in May 2019. Last heavy maintenance checks were performed at Boeing Shanghai (China) in November 2018 in respect to aircraft LNA and in January 2019 in respect to LNB. Aircraft LN-LNB performing flight DY-7055 from Copenhagen (Denmark) to Orlando (USA) on 13 May 2019, diverted to Goose Bay due to a problem with the left-hand engine. The left-hand engine is not the originally installed engine and as such not owned by DP Aircraft.

Thai Airways´ B787-8 offers a total of 264 seats, of which 24 are business and 240 economy class seats. The carrier operates this aircraft type to destinations such as Jakarta, Nagoya and Delhi. There is still a bottleneck by Rolls-Royce in regard to spare engines and shop visit slots and the engine manufacturers´ engine shops continue to be busy with upgrades on the Trent engines. This continues to affect Thai Airways´ Boeing 787 fleet resulting in some of the aircraft, including TQD, being parked since mid-September 2018. TQC returned back to service at the end of March 2019. Our technical inspector completed an interim storage inspection on 24th October 2018 at Bangkok International Airport and concluded that both aircraft are stored in accordance with the applicable storage requirements. Any temporary storage does not release Thai to pay lease rentals.

The charts below give a short overview of the utilisation of airframe and engines of each of the four aircraft:

AIRFRAME STATUS (30 April 2019)	Norwegian Air Shuttle
	LN-LNA		LN-LNB
	TOTAL	April 2019	TOTAL	April 2019
Total Flight Hours	28,772	504	29,201	523
Total Flight Cycles	3,341	52	3,460	55
Average Monthly Utilisation since Delivery	410 hours 48 cycles	---	428 hours 51 cycles	---
Flight Hours/Flight Cycle Ratio	8.61 : 1	9.69 : 1	8.44 : 1	9.51 : 1

ENGINE DATA (30 April 2019)	Norwegian Air Shuttle
	LN-LNA		LN-LNB
Engine Serial Number	10118	10119	10130	10135
Engine Manufacturer	Rolls-Royce	Rolls-Royce	Rolls-Royce	Rolls-Royce
Engine Type and Model	Trent 1000	Trent 1000	Trent 1000	Trent 1000
Total Flight Hours	21,281	21,865	18,068	24,149
Total Flight Cycles	2,530	2,617	2,017	2,783
Location	LN-LNE	LN-LNF	LN-LNB	LN-LNA

AIRFRAME STATUS (30 April 2019)	Thai Airways International
	HS-TQC		HS-TQD
	TOTAL	April 2019	TOTAL	April 2019
Total Flight Hours	15,517	285	13,665	0
Total Flight Cycles	3,534	60	3,203	0
Average Monthly Utilisation since Delivery	287 hours 65 cycles	---	259 hours 61 cycles	---
Flight Hours/Flight Cycle Ratio	4.39 : 1	4.75 : 1	4.27 : 1	---

ENGINE DATA (30 April 2019)	Thai Airways International
	HS-TQC		HS-TQD
Engine Serial Number	10239	10240	10244	10248
Engine Manufacturer	Rolls-Royce	Rolls-Royce	Rolls-Royce	Rolls-Royce
Engine Type and Model	Trent 1000	Trent 1000	Trent 1000	Trent 1000
Total Flight Hours	12,216	10,518	11,035	13,553
Total Flight Cycles	2,840	2,583	2,675	3,094
Location	In shop	In shop	In shop	HS-TQA

The Lessees

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA is the 3rd largest low-cost carrier in Europe. It operates on short-, medium- and long-haul routes. As at 31st March 2019, the fleet comprised 164 aircraft, including 34 B787 aircraft. In April 2019, the carrier received its 35th Dreamliner aircraft. In 2018, the airline transported more than 37 million passengers, a growth of 13 per cent on the previous year and took delivery of 11 Dreamliners. The low-cost carrier operates a network of more than 500 routes to over 150 destinations including more than 60 intercontinental city pairs. In 2018, Norwegian Air Shuttle had been awarded "The World's Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline" for the fourth consecutive year and "Europe's Best Low-Cost Airline" for the sixth year in a row by Skytrax.

Annual - KEY FIGURES [billion NOK]	2018	2017	Change
Operating Revenues	40.27	30.95	+ 30 %
EBITDAR	2.17	3.95	- 45 %
Operating Result	- 3.85	- 2.00	- 92 %
Net Result	- 1.45	- 1.79	+ 19 %
Capacity - ASK (million)	99,220	72,341	+ 37 %
Demand - RPK (million)	85,124	63,320	+ 34 %
Load Factor	85.8 %	87.5 %	- 1.7 pp
Passengers (million)	37.34	33.15	+ 13 %

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA closed the financial year 2018 with a net loss of NOK 1.45 billion (USD 168 million). While passenger numbers increased by 13 per cent to 37.34 million, operating revenues increased by 30 per cent to NOK 40.27 billion (USD 4.64 billion) compared to the previous year. While capacity increased by 37 per cent, demand grew by 34 per cent and therefore the passenger load factor decreased to 85.8 per cent. Ancillary revenues per passenger rose by 15 per cent and operating losses increased to NOK 3.85 billion (USD 444 million). If excluding other losses and gains, the operating result was NOK -2.86 billion (USD 329 million) compared to NOK -2.43 billion in 2017. Other losses and gains include, amongst others, effects from fuel hedging, swap and foreign currency contracts and losses and gains deriving from sales of fixed assets. Yield and unit revenue decreased by 2 per cent and 4 per cent respectively while the average sector length increased by 15 per cent. Unit costs including fuel decreased by 4 per cent and excluding fuel by 12 per cent. Generally, unit revenue, yield and unit costs decrease with increasing sector length; subject to no significant changes in load factors. The aircraft utilisation in the fourth quarter was on average 12.5 block hours compared to 11.4 block hours the same quarter in the previous year.

Norwegian´s 2018 results benefitted from a NOK 1.94 billion financial gain in the first quarter from reclassification of its investment in Norwegian Finans Holding, in which the airline has a 16.4 per cent shareholding. On the contrary, annual results were negatively affected by a fuel hedge loss of NOK 1.8 billion (USD 207 million) occurring in the fourth quarter. Effects from foreign exchange rates delivered a gain of NOK 108.6 million (USD 12.5 million) in 2018. High fuel prices, strong capacity growth and Rolls-Royce engine issues negatively affected profitability. The latter caused additional costs, amongst others for wet-leasing and passenger compensation, and negatively impacted the on-time performance. Norwegian announced early 2019, that they had reached an agreement with Rolls-Royce having a positive effect in 2019. In 2018, Norwegian Air Shuttle raised NOK 1.30 billion (USD 168 million) through a share issue (March 2018) and additionally completed a subsequent offering of NOK 200 million.

1Q - KEY FIGURES [billion NOK]	1Q 2019	1Q 2018	Change
Operating Revenues	7.99	6.99	+ 14 %
EBITDAR	0.09	- 0.88	---
Operating Result	- 1.46	- 2.22	+ 34 %
Net Result	- 1.49	- 0.05	- 3122 %
Capacity - ASK (million)	23,457	19,995	+ 17 %
Demand - RPK (million)	18,995	16,887	+ 12 %
Load Factor	81.0 %	84.5 %	- 3.5 pp
Passengers (million)	8.12	7.48	+ 9 %

First quarter results 2019 state operating revenues of NOK 7.99 billion (USD 927 million), an increase of 14 per cent compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Revenue growth was mainly driven by growth on intercontinental routes and traffic in the Nordics. Ancillary revenues per passenger grew by 3 per cent. EBITDAR was NOK 0.09 billion (USD 10 million) compared to NOK -0.88 billion in the first quarter 2018. The operating loss decreased by 34 per cent to NOK 1.46 billion (USD 169 million) while the operating loss excluding other losses and gains increased by 4 per cent to 2.26 billion (USD 262 million) compared to the same period the previous year. The airline closed the first quarter 2019 with a net loss of NOK 1.49 billion (USD 173 million) compared to a net loss of NOK 0.05 billion in the first quarter 2018. Total assets amounted to NOK 92.29 billion (USD 10.70 billion) and the equity ratio was 3.4 per cent as at 31st March 2019 compared to 4.2 per cent at the same date in the previous year. Receivables grew by NOK 3.03 billion (USD 351 million) not only due to increased production but also due to an increase in holdbacks from credit card acquirers. Cash and cash equivalents as at the end of the first quarter 2019 stood at NOK 3.15 billion (USD 365 million).

Norwegian shifted its focus from growth to profitability. This is evident as capacity growth in the first quarter 2019 slowed down to 17 per cent (1Q18: 36 per cent compared to 1Q17) and is anticipated to further reduce speed. Demand grew by 12 per cent and the load factor dropped by 3.5 percentage points to 81.0 per cent compared to the same quarter 2018. The average sector length increased by 2 per cent and unit cost including fuel decreased by 5 per cent and unit cost excluding fuel by 8 per cent respectively. Unit revenue decreased by 3 per cent while the yield improved by 2 per cent. Two significant events impede the comparability of first quarter results (2019 vs. 2018): Easter shift into the second quarter 2019 (first quarter in 2018), financial gain of NOK 1,940 million from reclassification of Norwegian Finans Holding (NOFI) shareholding first quarter 2018. Moreover, first quarter results 2019 have been affected by the grounding of B737MAX operations (Norwegian´s fleet comprises 18 B737MAX aircraft). As first quarters for European carriers are low-season, the airline minimised passenger disruptions by combining flights and wet-leasing aircraft. In April the carrier estimated that the grounding might have an effect of up to NOK 500 million (USD 58 million) in 2019. Norwegian stated to request compensation from Boeing but no agreement had been signed yet and as it is not clear when the Boeing 737MAX is allowed to return to commercial service, the total effect of the grounding cannot be conclusively determined. Deliveries of further B737MAXs are put on hold.

In the first quarter 2019, the low-cost carrier stated cost reductions of NOK 467 million (USD 54 million) through the implemented cost saving programme named #Focus2019 which is intended to contribute savings of at least NOK 2 billion in total during the year. The programme includes, amongst others, network optimisation, crewing efficiency, refinancing of aircraft deliveries and the divesting of several aircraft on order. In February 2019, Norwegian completed a NOK 3 billion (USD 349 million) fully underwritten rights issue to strengthen the balance sheet and comply with equity covenants. 1st January 2019, Norwegian Air implemented the new lease accounting standard International Financial Reporting Standard 16 (IFRS 16). This has an impact on the balance sheet as upon other terms, operated leases are entering the balance sheet. Amongst other effects, IFRS 16 negatively affected EBT by NOK 175 million in the first quarter 2019.

On-time performance in 2018 suffered from the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine issues. Norwegian decreased the B787 fleet utilisation to ensure smooth operations and punctuality during the first quarter significantly increased by 8.3 percentage points to 81.3 per cent compared to the first quarter 2018. In the long-haul operations, punctuality increased by 22 percentage points and arrival delays of more than three hours decreased by 43 per cent. 

In May 2019, the low-cost carrier starts operations between London-Gatwick and Rio de Janeiro four times a week. On this route, the carrier will only compete with British Airways serving the South American capital from London-Heathrow. The same month, seasonal flights from Madrid to Boston are launched and during the year frequencies will be increased between Los Angeles and both Rome and Madrid, between New York and Madrid as well as between Oakland and Rome. In 2019, Norwegian scheduled to take delivery of a total of 21 new aircraft, including five Dreamliner Boeing 787-9s. Capacity growth is announced to be between 5 per cent to 10 per cent on average in 2019 and targeted unit costs including fuel (assuming a fuel price of USD 655 per ton and an exchange rate of USD/NOK of 8.27) of NOK 0.42. Through the postponement of 12 B737 MAXs and four A321LRs deliveries, the low-cost-carrier decreased Capex for 2019 by USD 200 million. It further sold two A320neos (not operated by Norwegian but leased to a third carrier) which had a cash effect of USD 26 million.

Eurowings announced to virtually interline with Norwegian and SunExpress on European routes. Although passengers need to re-check in their luggage on transfer routes, they will benefit from having one ticket and therefore guaranteed transportation should the connecting flight not been reached due to delays on previous flight sectors. The launch date of the cooperation had not been announced yet. Eurowings has no extensive network to Nordic destinations but operates flights to Copenhagen, Goteborg, Oslo and Stockholm where passengers would then be able to transfer to Norwegian´s Nordic network.

Norwegian is exposed to normal business risks such as fluctuations in fuel prices and currencies, fierce competition, operational risks (as for example the Boeing 737MAX grounding), Brexit and regulatory issues. Besides Norwegian is aware that it is exposed to a liquidity risk, amongst others regarding commitments for future aircraft deliveries, lease commitments and the refinancing or paying back of its NOK 2.4 billion bond due at the end of the year. To reduce this risk, the airline has followed, as mentioned above, a strategic change from growth to profitability, including postponements of aircraft deliveries, divesting aircraft and the implementation of #Focus2019.

Thai Airways International PCL

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited, full-service network carrier and flag carrier of the Kingdom of Thailand is majority-owned by the Thai Government (Ministry of Finance) (51.03 per cent). In 2018, Thai Airways International, including its subsidiary Thai Smile, transported more than 24 million passengers. As at 31 March 2019, the fleet comprised 103 active aircraft of which 83 were wide-body aircraft. Thai and Thai Smile operate routes to 80 destinations in 31 countries, including 13 destinations in eleven European countries. In 2018, Thai Airways was awarded "Best South East Asian Airline" at the TTG Travel Award for the 10th consecutive year.

Annual - KEY FIGURES [billion THB]	2018	2017	Change
Operating Revenues	199.5	191.9	+ 3.9 %
Operating Result	- 9.0	2.9	---
Net Result	- 11.6	- 2.1	- 451.7 %
ASK (million)	93,131	90,498	+ 2.9 %
RPK (million)	72,315	71,634	+ 1.0 %
Load Factor	77.6 %	79.2 %	- 1.6 pp
Passengers (million)	24.32	24.56	- 1.0 %

Thai Airways closed the financial year 2018 with a net loss of THB 11.6 billion (USD 358 million) compared to a net loss of THB 2.1 billion (USD 64 million) in the previous year. Total operating revenues increased by 3.9 per cent to THB 199.5 billion (USD 6,157 million) whereas passenger and excess baggage revenues increased by 1.8 per cent totalling THB 160.3 billion and freight and mail revenues grew by 10.2 per cent to THB 22.3 billion. Revenues from other activities, including amongst others catering and cargo handling services, increased by 10.4 per cent to THB 13.4 billion and other income grew by 69.3 per cent to THB 3.5 billion. Other income includes gains from sale of unusable property and shares in Royal Orchid Hotel (Thailand) PCL. Total operating expenses increased by 10.3 per cent to a total of THB 208.6 billion (USD 6,434 million). Fuel and oil expenses increased by 19.7 per cent compared to 2017 while the average fuel price increased by 30.1 per cent. Aircraft utilisation remained stable at 12.0 block hours a day. While capacity increased by 2.9 per cent, demand grew by 1.0 per cent and the load factor decreased by 1.6 percentage points to 77.6 per cent. The number of transported passengers decreased by 1.0 per cent to 24.32 million.

Annual results of Thai Airways have been impacted by one-time expenses, including an impairment loss of assets and aircraft amounting to THB 3.5 billion and gains on foreign currency exchange of THB 911 million. Thai´s results have been further affected by raising fuel prices, fierce competition, repair and maintenance costs, the lease of aircraft and spare parts as well as higher depreciation and amortisation costs. A further effect on results derives from a change in the accounted residual values of aircraft and engines from 10 per cent to 6 per cent (in accordance with TAS 16 (Thai Accounting Standard)). That resulted in an increase of around THB 3.1 billion in operating expenses (depreciation expenses). Results were also affected by the bottleneck of spare engines due to the Trent 1000 issues which presupposed Thai to park partly its Dreamliner fleet.

In 2018, the airline declared a new vision as part of its transformation: "National Premium Airline with Touches of Thai and Effective Management for Sustainable Profitability". This comprises the core values of customer satisfaction, world-class service and value creation for all stakeholders. In line with the objection of sustainable growth, Thai Airways signed code share agreements with NOK Airlines on secondary routes (from Bangkok Don Muang Airport), Bangkok Airways (ten domestic and six international routes) and Shenzhen Airlines (three international routes) and moved some routes to its subsidiary Thai Smile. The latter expanded routes to strengthen its network to destinations in China, India and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Q1 - KEY FIGURES [billion THB]	Q1 2019	Q1 2018	Change
Operating Revenues	49.8	53.5	- 6.9 %
Operating Result	- 0.8	3.8	---
Net Result	0.4	2.7	- 83.6 %
ASK (million)	22,871	23,535	- 2.8 %
RPK (million)	18,362	18,969	- 3.2 %
Load Factor	80.3 %	80.6 %	- 0.3 pp
Passengers (million)	6.29	6.25	+ 0.6 %

In the first quarter 2019 Thai Airways stated a net profit of THB 445 million (USD 14 million); down by 86.6 per cent. Total operating revenues decreased by 6.9 per cent to THB 49.8 billion (USD 1,568 million) while total operating expenses increased by 2.0 per cent to THB 50.6 billion (USD 1,595 million) compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Operating expenses regarding depreciation and amortization increased by 7.3 per cent compared to the same quarter the previous year. The increase is mainly conditional on the change in the estimate residual value of aircraft and spare engines. The carrier stated an operating loss of THB 828 million (USD 26 million) compared to an operating profit of THB 3.8 billion in the first quarter 2018. Capacity decreased by 2.8 per cent and demand by 3.2 percent respectively. The load factor therefore decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 80.3 per cent. The passenger yield was THB 2.20, down by 4.3 per cent. Aircraft utilisation grew by 5.0 per cent to an average of 12.5 block hours per day. Net results benefitted from a gain on foreign currency of THB 1.4 billion and a gain from change in ownership of THB 273 million (As Thai Airways did not exercise its right to purchase ordinary shares of NOK Airlines in the course of NOK´s capital increase in January 2019, Thai´s share in NOK decreased from 21.80 per cent to 15.94 per cent. This is recognised in the balance sheet as gain on change in ownership interest). Impairment loss of assets and aircraft decreased from THB 2,473 million in the first quarter 2018 to THB 213 million in the first quarter 2019. As at the end of the quarter, the airline held 21 decommissioned aircraft for sale. Cash and cash equivalents stood at THB 13.69 billion (USD 431 million) and total assets amounted to THB 267.28 billion (USD 8,419 million).

Although the number of total international tourists travelling to Thailand increased by 1.9 per cent during the first quarter 2019, the number of Chinese tourists (accounting for nearly 30 per cent of total foreign tourists in Thailand) declined by 2.1 per cent. The decline in Chinese tourist numbers is still the aftermath of the boat tragedy in Phuket in 2018 and the effect of US trade barriers. Additionally, after the removal of the red flag from ICAO in October 2017, Thai airlines, especially low-cost carriers, increased capacity for the succeeding seasons leading to more competition and raising pressure on yields. In February 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revisited Thailand to review their country´s safety rating. The FAA came to the result that not all previous identified deficiencies had been rectified and the FAA will continue to list Thailand as Category II country. Thailand can re-apply for a FAA audit after the listed items had been resolved. FAA audits focus on countries´ regulatory systems and not on the respective country´s airlines, although a Category II rating bans airlines from launching services to the United States (existing routes are approved for continuation). Thai Airways does not operate direct routes to North America but codeshares with Star Alliance members on 15 destinations in the United States and Canada. These codeshare routes are not affected by the FAA audit. Thai and Thai Smile Airways are IOSA certified (IATA Operational Safety Audit). Furthermore, Thai Airways has passed the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Third Country Operator (TCO) Audit in 2015 which is mandatory for non-European airlines operating routes to and from the European Union since late 2016.

On 27th February 2019, the Pakistan airspace was closed for several days forcing Thai Airways to cancel flights not only to and from Pakistan but also to and from Europe. The two Pakistani destinations Thai Airways used to serve before, remain suspended until at least end of May. On 3rd May 2019, Thai Airways raised THB 10 billion (USD 313 million) through an unsecured debenture issue for institutional and high net worth investors. The coupon rates between 2.35 per cent and 4.65 per cent have tenures between one and 15 years. The debenture received an A-rating be the rating agency TRIS which is aware of the fact that Thai´s debt to capitalisation ratio remains high. The raised capital will be used to refinance maturing debt and investments.

For 2019, the airline is expecting increasing passenger numbers as a result of various governmental promotions to increase tourism; amongst others through the free visa on arrival policy for 21 countries and the promotion of secondary destinations. Thai Airways also expects further recovery of the number of Chinese tourists. On 1st February 2019, Nattapong Samit-Ampaipisarn took over the role as executive vice-president for finance and accounting which previously had been held on an acting basis by the airline´s president. Thai´s B787 fleet size is affected by the shortage of available spare engines by Rolls-Royce which is the main reason for the active fleet being four aircraft less than in the first three months in the previous year. Another reason for the decrease in capacity compared to the previous first quarter resulted from the reduction of frequencies to Sydney and Brisbane as well as the cancellation of the route Bangkok - Teheran.

Thai Airways continues to focus on its revised 2018-2022 transformation plan to exit the business rehabilitation process. The current focus is to deliver a profitable business performance and to improve service quality and customer satisfaction. In 2020, the airline aims at being ranked among the world´s top 5 airlines and the reduction of negative retained earnings by 2022. Moreover, Thai Airways has a long-term 10-year strategy in place (2017 - 2026). The airline´s five strategic objectives of the implementation plan include: Aggressive profit, business portfolio, customer experience, digital technology and effective human capital management. The 2018-2022 fleet plan had been revised and renamed as 2019-2026 fleet acquisition plan which had been approved by the Board of Directors in January 2019 and awaits governmental approval. The acquisition of aircraft mainly focusses on replacing aircraft of 20 or more years of age. Furthermore, Thai and Thai Smile will work closer together to profit from synergies and offer better onward connections to and from Thai Airways routes.

Thai Airways identified various risk factors for 2019, amongst others natural disaster, accidents where tourists are involved and trade wars. Furthermore, growing market shares of low-cost carriers as well as fluctuation risks of fuel price, foreign exchange rates and interest levels put yields under pressure. Thai Airways has implemented Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) in 2003 which has also been integrated into the airlines business rehabilitation plan to support enhanced efficiency and proactiveness. 

Material Events since October 2018

October 2018

Interim update (31 October 2018)

The interim investor update report for the period 1 May to 31 October 2018 was published.

January 2019

Dividend Declaration (17 January 2019)

The Company declared a quarterly dividend in respect of the quarter ended 31 December 2018, of 2.25 cents per Share, to holders of shares on the register at 25 January 2019, and payment was made on 14 February 2019.

April 2019

Dividend Declaration (23 April 2019)

The Company declared a quarterly dividend in respect of the quarter ended 31 March 2019, of 2.25 cents per Share, to holders of shares on the register at 3 May 2019, and payment was made on 16 May 2019.

Annual Report and Audited Consolidated Financial Statements (24 April 2019)

The Annual Report and Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2018 were published. 

Enquiries:

Kellie Blondel / Laura Dunning

Aztec Financial Services (Guernsey) Limited

As Company Secretary to DP Aircraft I Limited

Tel: + 44 (0) 1481 748833

 

END

 

 

UPDCKFDKDBKDFPB