Finnair Group Interim Report 1 January – 31 March 2021

Finnair Plc                  Interim Report                 27 April 2021 at 9.00 a.m. EEST

Finnair continued cost adjustment and financing measures while travel demand remained weak, but cargo continued to perform. Gradual recovery of demand is estimated to start from late summer.

January – March 2021

• Earnings per share were -0.11 euros (-0.21)*.
• Revenue decreased by 79.8% to 113.6 million euros (561.2).
• Comparable operating result was -143.2 million euros (-91.1). Operating result was -149.1 million euros (-95.6).
• Cash funds were 665.3 million euros (31 Dec 2020: 823.7) and equity ratio was 22.7 per cent (31 Dec 2020: 24.6).
• Net cash flow from operating activities was -117.7 million euros (-133.5), and net cash flow from investing activities was 5.2 million euros (-67.3).**
• Number of passengers decreased by 90.2% to 0.3 million (2.7).
• ASK declined by 87.6%.
• PLF was 25.5% (72.6).

* Unless otherwise stated, comparisons and figures in parentheses refer to the comparison period, i.e. the same period last year.

** In Q1, net cash flow from investing activities includes 9.3 million euros of redemptions in money market funds or other financial assets (maturity over three months). They are part of the Group’s liquidity management.

Outlook

Guidance issued on 18 February 2021:

Due to the continued strict travel restrictions, the comparable operating loss in Q1 2021 will be of a similar magnitude as in Q2, Q3 and Q4 2020.

In Q1 2021, Finnair continues to operate a limited network. As the visibility thereafter is weak and there are several scenarios of the timing of the recovery in demand, the company will not provide guidance on full year revenue.

Finnair will update its outlook and guidance in connection with the Q1 2021 interim report.

New guidance issued on 27 April 2021:

Due to the continued strict travel restrictions, the comparable operating loss in Q2 2021 will be of a similar magnitude as in four previous quarters.

In Q2 2021, Finnair continues to operate a limited network. While gradual recovery of demand is expected in Q3 2021, the visibility is weak and there are several scenarios of the timing of the recovery and, thus, the company will not provide guidance on full year revenue.

Finnair will update its outlook and guidance in connection with the Q2 2021 interim report.

CEO Topi Manner:

As expected, the pandemic continued to impact Finnair as strict travel restrictions heavily limited travelling in many countries during the first quarter. We operated a limited network and frequencies throughout the quarter, as we had indicated. This was reflected in our passenger numbers, revenue and result. However, there were a few bright spots - Finnish Lapland attracted domestic travellers, and we were also able to re-open passenger flights to New York, supported by cargo, after a break of almost one year.

Demand for cargo remained strong, and cargo revenue in March was record high. Cargo demand was supported by supply chain challenges caused by the pandemic, which was exacerbated by the Suez Canal blockage. We operated 547 cargo-only flights in the first quarter, and cargo also supported the continuation of some long-haul passenger flights. Cargo continued to account for over 50 per cent of our revenue.

During the quarter, actions to secure our liquidity continued. The European Commission approved a 350-million-euro tranche of our 400-million-euro hybrid loan from the State of Finland, which means that that part of the credit facility is available to us if the related terms and conditions would be met. We will seek the Commission’s approval for the remaining 50 million euros at a later stage. Further, we renegotiated the terms and conditions of our 175-million-euro revolving credit facility, which also remains undrawn. These measures help to pave our way out of the pandemic.

Our cost savings programme targeting permanent savings of 140 million euros by 2022 progressed well during the quarter and we raised the target to 170 million euros. We will continue to seek new savings items from all cost categories. Cost efficiency will be crucial in the highly competitive post-pandemic market. Thanks to our significant permanent cost savings, Finnair will be well positioned in this kind of operational environment.

Customer satisfaction remained at an excellent level and our Net Promoter Score was 54 during the period. Our customers particularly appreciated our focus on a clean, hygienic travel experience we can offer during the pandemic, but also our outstanding customer service. I would like to express my gratitude to the entire Finnair team for this work and thank our customers for the trust they have shown in Finnair during the pandemic.

Even amidst the pandemic, we have progressed with our sustainability efforts. Our biofuel partner Neste will supply biofuel to Helsinki Airport to reduce their business travel related emissions, and our cooperation with the Finnish air navigation services helps to improve fuel efficiency in the Finnish airspace. We also signed a Letter of Interest regarding the Heart Aerospace ES-19 electric aircraft, which are under development.

We are currently expecting that demand will gradually recover starting from late summer driven by improved vaccination coverage and expected easing of travel restrictions. The EU Digital Green Certificate, which is planned to be launched by the end of June, will play an important role in the return of free movement within the EU while protecting healthy and safe travel environment. It is also included in the COVID-19 exit plan of the State of Finland. The first eligibility trainings of our furloughed pilots and cabin crew have commenced quite recently. Finnair expects to operate to over 60 destinations during the summer, and we will be modifying our traffic programme based on demand during the summer.

Financial reporting in 2021

The publication dates of Finnair’s financial reports in 2021 are the following:

• Half-year Report for January–June 2021 on Thursday 15 July 2021
• Interim Report for January–September 2021 on Tuesday 26 October 2021

This text is a summary of Finnair's Interim Report January – March 2021. The full report is available as an attachment to this report.

FINNAIR PLC
Board of Directors

Briefings

Finnair will hold a results press conference (in Finnish) on 27 April 2021 at 11:00 a.m. via a live webcast: https://finnairgroup.videosync.fi/2021-0427-press.

An English-language telephone conference and webcast will begin at 1:00 p.m. Finnish time. The conference may be attended by dialling your local access number +358 (0)9 8171 0310 (Finland), 08 5664 2651 (Sweden), 033 3300 0804 (UK) or +44 (0)33 3300 0804 (all other countries). The confirmation code is 66092688#. To join the live webcast, please register at: https://finnairgroup.videosync.fi/2021-q1.

For further information, please contact:

Chief Financial Officer Mika Stirkkinen, tel. +358 9 818 4960, mika.stirkkinen@finnair.com

Director, Investor Relations Erkka Salonen, tel. +358 9 818 5101, erkka.salonen@finnair.com

FINNAIR PLC

Further information:
Finnair communications, 358 9 818 4020, comms@finnair.com

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Finnair is a modern premium network airline, specialising in passenger and cargo traffic between Asia and Europe. Helsinki’s geographical location gives Finnair a competitive advantage, since the fastest connections between many European destinations and Asian megacities fly over Finland. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do –  Finnair intends to reduce its net emissions by 50% by the end of 2025 from the 2019 baseline and achieve carbon neutrality latest by the end of 2045. Finnair is a member of the oneworld alliance. Finnair Plc’s shares are quoted on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.