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Corporacion America Airports Announces 3Q20 Results

Corporación América Airports S.A. (NYSE: CAAP), (“CAAP” or the “Company”) the largest private sector airport operator based on the number of airports under management reported today its unaudited, consolidated results for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2020. Financial results are expressed in millions of U.S. dollars and are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”).

Commencing 3Q18, the Company began reporting results of its Argentinean subsidiaries applying Hyperinflation Accounting, in accordance to IFRS rule IAS 29 (“IAS 29”), as detailed on Section “Hyperinflation Accounting in Argentina” on page 26.

Third Quarter 2020 Highlights

  • Consolidated Revenues of $97.6 million, down 76.6% YoY. Excluding the impact of IFRS rule IAS 29, revenues declined 77.3%, or $338.6 million, to $99.4 million, mainly due to a $168.8 million drop in Aeronautical revenues and a $76.1 decline in Commercial revenues driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with lower construction service revenue in Argentina reflecting lower capex in the period
  • Key operating metrics decreased YoY impacted by Covid-19, but showed improved sequentially:
    • passenger traffic was 2.6 million, a 88.7% YoY decline, but up over 5x from 0.4 million in 2Q20
    • cargo volume declined 46.8% YoY to 52.9 thousand tons, but improved 16.1% from 45.5 thousand tons in 2Q20
    • aircraft movements reached 60.1 thousand, a 73.4% YoY decline but more than doubled from 28.5 thousand in 2Q20
  • Operating Loss of $123.0 million compared to an operating gain of $61.8 million in 3Q19, primarily due to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on revenues and a $58.8 million impairment loss in relation with Brazilian assets. In addition, in 3Q19 operating income was impacted by a bad debt provision of $23.1 million in Argentina.
  • Adjusted EBITDA loss of $77.3 million on an “As Reported” basis, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $99.9 million in 3Q19. Ex-IAS 29, Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $77.8 million compared to $102.1 million in 3Q19. When excluding an impairment loss in 3Q20 and bad debt charges in 3Q19, Adjusted EBITDA improved to a loss of $19.0 million in 3Q20, from a loss of $33.2 million in 2Q20, but below Adjusted EBITDA of $125.2 million in 3Q19.
  • On August 20, 2020, CAAP’s Argentine subsidiary successfully issued a $40 million local dollar-linked note with a 2-year maturity.
  • During August 2020, the regulator in Italy granted a 2-year extension to all airport concessions in the country.

Subsequent Events

  • On November 6, 2020, the Company’s Italian subsidiary announced it obtained an 85 million Euro bank loan from a pool of financial institutions, with a 6-year term and a 2-year grace period, guaranteed by the Italian public export credit insurance agency.

CEO Message

“While results this quarter remain impacted by the ongoing effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic, including travel restrictions and lower passenger demand, we have been seeing a gradual monthly improvement in passenger traffic, cargo volume and aircraft movements since May. This was mainly led by better trends in Brazil which continues to recover; further supported by higher activity in Italy during the summer,” noted Mr. Martín Eurnekian, CEO of Corporación América Airports.

“Over the past six months we have made significant progress on several fronts as we execute against the action plan established at the onset of this health crisis to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. First, we exceeded the cost reduction goals1 we established for the second and third quarter of this year lowering our cash operating costs excluding concession fees, by 48% in 3Q20 compared to the same period last year. Second, our operations in Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador and Armenia achieved operating cash breakeven levels in the quarter. Third, we refinanced an important portion of our principal and interest payment. We also increased our liquidity position through new financings in Italy this month, and remain focused on strengthening our financial position. Finally, we continue to work with regulatory bodies and governments across our concessions to obtain compensation for the impact of this crisis.”

“Upholding high-safety standards is of paramount importance for us with several of our main airports already obtaining independent health certifications. Ezeiza airport in Argentina, along with our airports in Brasilia, Guayaquil and Galapagos are among the 100 airports worldwide that have obtained ACI’s recently launched 'Airport Health Accreditation'. We are also working towards completing ACI’s certification for Montevideo Airport. Moreover, our airports in Pisa and Florence were the first in Italy to receive independent certification of health protocols. All other airports have been operating under these same strict health protocols that were developed in conjunction with the aviation industry, regulators and infectious disease experts to ensure the maximum health standards across our airport network. I am very proud of how our teams reacted rapidly to these unprecedented challenges to ensure the health and safety of employees and passengers across our operations.”

“Looking ahead, we remain cautious as we monitor the new outbreaks in Europe even though we expect to see improved performance in Latin America over the summer holidays. Longer term, our visibility remains low with a sustained recovery subject to consumers gaining confidence in the health protocols that have been established by the air travel industry worldwide, progressive lifting of government restrictions, the wide-spread availability of vaccines, and overall improved economic conditions.

1 Cash total operating costs and expenses excluding concession fees and construction service cost.

Operating & Financial Highlights

(In millions of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted)

3Q20 as
reported

3Q19 as
reported

% Var as
reported

IAS 29
3Q20

3Q20 ex
IAS 29

3Q19 ex
IAS 29

% Var ex
IAS 29

Passenger Traffic (Million Passengers) (1)(2)

2.6

22.7

-88.7%

-

2.6

22.7

-88.7%

Revenue

97.6

417.1

-76.6%

-1.8

99.4

438.0

-77.3%

Aeronautical Revenues

23.8

184.8

-87.1%

0.2

23.6

192.4

-87.8%

Non-Aeronautical Revenues

73.8

232.3

-68.2%

-2.0

75.8

245.7

-69.1%

Revenue excluding construction service

75.8

308.8

-75.5%

0.2

75.6

320.8

-76.4%

Operating (Loss) / Income

-123.0

61.8

-299.1%

-19.0

-104.1

76.6

-235.8%

Operating Margin

-126.1%

14.8%

-14,090 bps

-

-104.7%

17.5%

-12,220 bps

Net (Loss) / Income Attributable to Owners of the Parent

-143.3

-24.6

482.4%

2.1

-145.3

-25.2

476.7%

EPS (US$)

-0.90

-0.15

496.9%

0.01

-0.91

-0.16

467.6%

Adjusted EBITDA

-77.3

99.9

-177.4%

0.5

-77.8

102.1

-176.2%

Adjusted EBITDA Margin

-79.2%

23.9%

-10,312 bps

-

-78.2%

23.3%

-10,154 bps

Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding Construction Service

-102.9%

32.3%

-13,523 bps

-

-103.8%

31.7%

-13,552 bps

Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA

31.51x

2.14x

n.m

-

-

-

-

Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA excl. impairment on intangible assets (3)

7.35x

2.14x

n.m

-

-

-

-

Note: Figures in historical dollars (excluding IAS29) are included for comparison purposes.

1)

Note that preliminary passenger traffic figures for Ezeiza Airport, in Argentina, for 2019 as well as January 2020 were adjusted to include additional inbound passengers not accounted for in the initial count, for an average of approximately 5% of total passenger traffic at Ezeiza Airport and 1% of total traffic at CAAP, during that period. Importantly, inbound traffic does not affect revenues, as tariffs are applicable on departure passengers.

2)

Starting November 2019, the Company has reclassified its passenger traffic figures for Brasilia Airport between international, domestic and transit retroactively since June 2018 to return to the count methodology utilized until May 2018. Notwithstanding, total traffic figures remain unchanged.

3)

LTM Adjusted EBITDA excluding impairments of intangible assets

Operating & Financial Highlights

(In millions of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted)

9M20 as
reported

9M19 as
reported

% Var as
reported

IAS 29
9M20

9M20 ex
IAS 29

9M19 ex
IAS 29

% Var ex
IAS 29

Passenger Traffic (Million Passengers) (1)(2)

20.1

63.3

-68.2%

-

20.1

63.3

-68.2%

Revenue

475.8

1129.2

-57.9%

-13.7

489.5

1207.8

-59.5%

Aeronautical Revenues

183.4

530.0

-65.4%

-4.7

188.1

563.0

-66.6%

Non-Aeronautical Revenues

292.4

599.2

-51.2%

-8.9

301.4

644.8

-53.3%

Revenue excluding construction service

379.0

880.3

-56.9%

-8.1

387.1

932.4

-58.5%

Operating Income

-168.6

202.8

-183.1%

-61.3

-107.3

258.5

-141.5%

Operating Margin

-35.4%

18.0%

-5,343 bps

-

-21.9%

21.4%

-4,332 bps

Net (Loss) / Income Attributable to Owners of the Parent

-213.8

42.8

-599.5%

-4.1

-209.7

-9.9

2,017.7%

EPS (US$)

-1.34

0.27

-594.8%

-0.03

-1.31

0.33

-497.0%

Adjusted EBITDA

-31.4

317.1

-109.9%

-0.3

-31.1

337.1

-109.2%

Adjusted EBITDA Margin

-6.6%

28.1%

-3,469 bps

-

-6.3%

27.9%

-3,424 bps

Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding Construction Service

-8.7%

35.8%

-4,449 bps

-

-8.4%

36.0%

-4,443 bps

Note: Figures in historical dollars (excluding IAS29) are included for comparison purposes.

1)

See Footnote 1 in previous table.

2)

Preliminary data on 1,256 in January and 195 in February 2020 at Brasilia Airport, due to delays in the submission of information by third parties. Moreover, starting November 2019 the Company has reclassified its passenger traffic figures for Brasilia Airport between international, domestic and transit retroactively since June 2018 to return to the count methodology utilized until May 2018. Notwithstanding, total traffic figures remain unchanged.

Update on Action Plan to Mitigate Impact of COVID-19

Governmental Flight Restrictions

The recent COVID-19 virus outbreak has generated a disruption in the global economy, and in particular, the aviation industry resulting in drastic reductions in passenger traffic. During March 2020, several governments around the world, implemented measures to contain the spread, including the closing of borders and prohibition of travel, domestic lockdowns and quarantine measures. While the governments across the Company’s countries of operations have been relaxing some of these flight restrictions in recent months, the overall situation remains volatile, as governments worldwide adjust travel bans or implement requirements to enter or leave their countries, including quarantines or negative Covid-19 PCR tests, based on the evolution of the sanitary situation.

  • Currently, in Argentina borders remain closed to foreigners with the exception of citizens from neighboring countries, with certain requirements. Domestic flights for essential workers or specific work or health-related reasons are permitted starting October 22.
  • In Italy, commercial operations restarted the first week of June with restrictions for travelers coming from, or that visited or transited certain countries.
  • Uruguay restarted air travel in the first week of July, although borders remain closed to non-resident foreigners, with certain exemptions, and requirements upon entry.
  • In Brazil, commercial operations never stopped, with passenger traffic showing sequential increases since June.
  • In Armenia, restrictions on air travel were lifted mid-September, although some requirements apply upon entry.
  • Commercial operations in Ecuador restarted during the first week of June, although certain requirements apply.

Impact of COVID-19 on CAAP’s Passenger Traffic and Cargo activity

The Company’s operations have been severely impacted by the prolonged flight restrictions in most countries of operations as well as flight bans in many other countries worldwide. Total passenger traffic in July 2020 declined 92.9% year-on-year, showing a slight recovery in August and September, with declines of 88.8% and 84.1%, respectively. Commercial flights restarted in most countries of operations, with certain restrictions. By contrast, in Argentina, international flights are still operating under a special regime, and domestic flights are restricted to essential workers and passengers with special permits. Cargo activity was also impacted, with cargo volume declining 53.2% year-on-year in July 2020, improving sequentially to a drop of 45.8% YoY in August and a 40.9% decline in September.

Implementation of Mitigation Initiatives Focused on Preserving Financial Position

The crisis committee, composed of the Company’s CEO and operating CEOs of each subsidiary, continues to assess operations, with the goal of enhancing the sustainability of the Company’s business. CAAP continued to make progress on its action plan focused on:

  • Employees and passengers: The Company has further enhanced safety and hygiene protocols across its airports to protect the well-being of passengers and operating personnel. As travel bans are lifted and commercial flights resume across all countries, CAAP developed and established customized protocols to ensure the maximum health standards across the Company’s airport network. These protocols were approved by the respective regulatory agencies and health authorities. These include sanitization and social distance measures, screening and biocontrol procedures for all passengers travelling through our airports. Ezeiza airport in Argentina, along with CAAP’s airports in Brasilia, Guayaquil and Galápagos are among the 100 airports worldwide that obtained ACI’s recently launched “Airport Health Accreditation”. The Company is working towards completing the certification of Montevideo airport, in Uruguay. In addition, Pisa and Florence airports were the first in Italy to receive independent certification of health protocols back in July.
  • Cost controls and cash preservation measures: CAAP has made progress on lowering operating costs by:
    • Reducing personnel expenses in Brazil, Uruguay, Italy and Armenia, including lay-offs, salary reductions, placing operating employees on furlough and/or reduction of working hours. In Argentina, the Company received government assistance to cover a portion of salaries since April to October. This assistance is expected to be extended during the remainder of 2020.
    • Lowering maintenance and other operating expenses, through the revision of maintenance contracts across all countries of operations. While CAAP expects to benefit from these reductions in the coming quarters, it also expects to see some increases in payroll and maintenance and other operating costs as traffic continues to recover.

As a result of these combined measures, the Company achieved a 48% year-on-year reduction in cash operating costs and expenses in the quarter, following a 51% year-on-year reduction in 2Q20, beating its 43% reduction target in both quarters. Note this excludes concession fees and construction costs.

The Company also continues to aggressively manage its working capital by negotiating with its suppliers the extension of payment terms and reducing its capex program.

  • Negotiations with regulatory bodies and government support: The Company advanced on the renegotiations of concession fee payments with regulatory bodies:
    • In Brazil, last March the regulator approved the deferral to December 2020 of the variable and fixed concession fee payments that were due May and July, respectively. Recently CAAP, applied for the refinancing of 50% of this annual concession fee payment due December 2020.
    • In Italy, last March the Company obtained regulatory approval to defer until January 2021 the semi-annual concession fee payment originally due July 2020 and in August, CAAP also obtained a government grant for a total of Eur. 20 million to be deployed over a two-year period.
    • Negotiations with regulators are still ongoing in Ecuador and Uruguay in relation with the payment of the concession fee.
  • Re-equilibrium of the concession agreements:
    • Concession contracts in Argentina, Armenia and Italy allow for guaranteed returns. In Italy, during 2Q20, the regulator granted a 2-year extension to all airport concessions in the country.
    • The concession contracts in Brazil and Ecuador have force majeure re-equilibrium clauses. In Brazil, in 3020 the Company filed a formal request in connection with the economic re-equilibrium of the Brasilia and Natal concessions, while in Ecuador it filed a request in 2Q20 for an economic re-equilibrium process of the Guayaquil concession. In both countries, the company is moving forward with the process.
    • In Uruguay during 2Q20 the Company started the process to request an economic compensation to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in the Montevideo concession.
  • The amounts and mechanisms for compensation will be negotiated with authorities.

Financial position and liquidity: As cash preservation is a critical focus, the Company has taken the following measures:

  • As a result of renegotiations with debt holders and banks, in May the Company deferred or refinanced a total of $126 million dollars in principal and interest payments as follows:
    • In Argentina, the Company completed an exchange offer for its $400 million international notes due 2027, with 86.73% of the principal amount tendered for exchange, resulting in a deferral of a total of $60 million dollars in principal and interest payments originally due until February 2021. It also deferred a total of $36.6 million dollars in principal due 2020 in connection with its $120 million Credit Facility and a $10 million bilateral loan.
    • In Uruguay, the Company executed an exchange offer for its $200 million notes due 2032, and obtained 93.60% of the principal amount tendered for exchange. As a result, CAAP has the option to defer up to $20.5 million dollars in principal and interest payments originally due until June 2021. In addition, the Company deferred a total of $8.7 million in principal payments due 2020 under local notes.
  • Since April, cancelled all non-mandatory capital investments and deferred non-priority projects. In 3Q20, $27.4 million were invested in capital expenditures, which included a carry-over from the first quarter and certain mandatory capex.
  • Implemented a set of cost control measures that achieved a significant reduction in cash operating costs in 2Q20 and 3Q20. The Company remains focused on obtaining additional efficiencies, while closely monitoring the increase of operating expenses as operations resume across all countries. Moreover, CAAP negotiated payment terms with suppliers to limit additional cash outflows.
  • Suspended dividends to third parties in the concessions in Italy and Ecuador for an amount of $17 million dollars. Moreover, CAAP currently does not pay corporate dividends and the Company does not have in place a share repurchase program either.
  • CAAP continues to work closely with the financial community to preserve the Company’s liquidity and financial flexibility. During 3Q20, the Company secured additional financing in Argentina through a $40 million dollar-linked local bond at a 0% interest rate with a 2-year maturity. Subsequent to quarter-end, CAAP’s Italian subsidiary obtained an 85 million Euro bank loan, with a 6-year term and a 2-year grace period, guaranteed by the Italian public export credit insurance agency. In addition, In Brazil, CAAP obtained an additional 6-month deferral of its debt with BNDES.

As a result of the strong cost reduction and cash preservation initiatives, CAAP managed to significantly reduce operating cash burn, reaching cash break-even levels in Argentina and Uruguay during the last two quarters and, also in Ecuador and Armenia during the third quarter.

To obtain the full text of this earnings release and the earnings presentation, please click on the following link: http://investors.corporacionamericaairports.com/Results-Center

3Q20 EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL

When:

9:00 a.m. Eastern time, November 19, 2020

Who:

Mr. Martín Eurnekian, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Raúl Francos, Chief Financial Officer

Ms. Gimena Albanesi, Investor Relations Manager

Dial-in:

1-888-347-6492 (U.S. domestic); 1-412-317-5258 (international)

Webcast:

https://services.choruscall.com/links/caap201119.html

Replay:

Participants can access the replay through November 26, 2020 by dialing:

1-877-344-7529 (U.S. domestic) and 1-412-317-0088 (international). Replay ID: 10149434.

Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures

This announcement includes certain references to Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service and Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding Construction service, as well as Net Debt:

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as income for the period before financial income, financial loss, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by total revenues.

Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service (“Adjusted EBITDA ex-IFRIC”) is defined as income for the period before construction services revenue and cost, financial income, financial loss, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding Construction Service (“Adjusted EBITDA Margin ex-IFRIC12”) excludes the effect of IFRIC 12 with respect to the construction or improvements to assets under the concession and is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service revenue and cost, by total revenues less Construction service revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service and Adjusted EBITDA Margin excluding Construction Service are not measures recognized under IFRS and should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, consolidated net income for the year as determined in accordance with IFRS or as indicators of our operating performance from continuing operations. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this information and should note that these measures as calculated by the Company, may differ materially from similarly titled measures reported by other companies. We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service enhances an investor’s understanding of our performance and are useful for investors to assess our operating performance by excluding certain items that we believe are not representative of our core business. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA excluding Construction Service are useful because they allow us to more effectively evaluate our operating performance and compare the results of our operations from period to period without regard to our financing methods, capital structure or income taxes and construction services (when applicable).

Net debt is calculated by deducting “Cash and cash equivalents” from total financial debt.

Figures ex-IAS 29 result from dividing nominal Argentine pesos for the Argentine Segment, by the average foreign exchange rate of the Argentine Peso against the US dollar in the period. Percentage variations ex-IAS 29 figures compare results as presented in the prior year quarter before IAS 29 came into effect, against ex-IAS 29 results for this quarter as described above. For comparison purposes the impact of adopting IAS 29 in Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, the Company’s largest subsidiary in Argentina, is presented separately in each of the applicable sections of this earnings release, in a column denominated “IAS 29”. The impact from “Hyperinflation Accounting in Argentina” is described in more detail page 26 of this report.

Definitions and Concepts

Commercial Revenues: CAAP derives commercial revenue principally from fees resulting from warehouse usage (which includes cargo storage, stowage and warehouse services and related international cargo services), services and retail stores, duty free shops, car parking facilities, catering, hangar services, food and beverage services, retail stores, including royalties collected from retailers’ revenue, and rent of space, advertising, fuel, airport counters, VIP lounges and fees collected from other miscellaneous sources, such as telecommunications, car rentals and passenger services.

Construction Service revenue and cost: Investments related to improvements and upgrades to be performed in connection with concession agreements are treated under the intangible asset model established by IFRIC 12. As a result, all expenditures associated with investments required by the concession agreements are treated as revenue generating activities given that they ultimately provide future benefits, and subsequent improvements and upgrades made to the concession are recognized as intangible assets based on the principles of IFRIC 12. The revenue and expense are recognized as profit or loss when the expenditures are performed. The cost for such additions and improvements to concession assets is based on actual costs incurred by CAAP in the execution of the additions or improvements, considering the investment requirements in the concession agreements. Through bidding processes, the Company contracts third parties to carry out such construction or improvement services. The amount of revenues for these services is equal to the amount of costs incurred plus a reasonable margin, which is estimated at an average of 3.0% to 5.0%.

About Corporación América Airports

Corporación América Airports acquires, develops and operates airport concessions. The Company is the largest private airport operator in the world based on the number of airports and the tenth largest based on passenger traffic. Currently, the Company operates 52 airports in 7 countries across Latin America and Europe (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Armenia and Italy). In 2019, Corporación América Airports served 84.2 million passengers. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange where it trades under the ticker “CAAP”. For more information, visit http://investors.corporacionamericaairports.com

Forward Looking Statements

Statements relating to our future plans, projections, events or prospects are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by terms such as “believes,” “continue,” “could,” “potential,” “remain,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause our actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the COVID-19 impact, delays or unexpected casualties related to construction under our investment plan and master plans, our ability to generate or obtain the requisite capital to fully develop and operate our airports, general economic, political, demographic and business conditions in the geographic markets we serve, decreases in passenger traffic, changes in the fees we may charge under our concession agreements, inflation, depreciation and devaluation of the AR$, EUR, BRL, UYU, AMD or the PEN against the U.S. dollar, the early termination, revocation or failure to renew or extend any of our concession agreements, the right of the Argentine Government to buy out the AA2000 Concession Agreement, changes in our investment commitments or our ability to meet our obligations thereunder, existing and future governmental regulations, natural disaster-related losses which may not be fully insurable, terrorism in the international markets we serve, epidemics, pandemics and other public health crises and changes in interest rates or foreign exchange rates. The Company encourages you to review the ‘Cautionary Statement’ and the ‘Risk Factor’ sections of our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 and any of CAAP’s other applicable filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information concerning factors that could cause those differences.

Contacts:

Investor Relations Contact
Gimena Albanesi
Investor Relations Manager
Email: gimena.albanesi@caairports.com
Phone: +5411 4852-6411

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