Heathrow first quarter 2020 results

Heathrow remains open and continues operating safely to help people get home and to secure vital supply lines for the UK.

Signficant impact on traffic

Passenger numbers declined by 18.3% during Q1 to 14.6 million and are expected to be down by around 97% in April. We expect passenger demand will remain weak until governments around the world deem it safe to lift travel restrictions. Overall revenue fell 12.7% to £593 million and adjusted EBITDA fell by 22.4% to £315 million

Management has responded quickly

Heathrow took immediate action to conserve cash and reduce costs by around 30%, through cutting management pay, renegotiating all contracts and consolidating operations. Capital expenditure has been cut by £650 million

Financial position is robust

Heathrow has £3.2 billion in liquidity, sufficient to maintain the business at least over the next 12 months, even with no passengers

Building passenger confidence in flying

Heathrow is working with partners round the world to establish a Common International Standard for safe air travel to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Re-establishing long haul passenger flights is critical for the UK’s supply chain, exports, inbound tourism and education

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:

"Heathrow is proud to serve Britain by remaining open for repatriating UK citizens and critical supplies of PPE.  When we have beaten this virus, we will need to get Britain flying again so that the economy can recover as fast as possible.