Global Ports Holding PLC (GPH) Trading statement for the twelve
months ended 31 March 2023 15-May-2023 / 07:00 GMT/BST
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Global Ports Holding Plc
Trading statement for the twelve months ended 31 March 2023
Global Ports Holding Plc ("GPH" or "Group"), the world's largest
independent cruise port operator, today issues a trading update for
the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
12 months ended 12 months ended YoY change 3 months ended 3 months ended
Key Financials & KPIs1
31-Mar-23 31-Mar-22 (%) 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-22
Passengers (m)2 9.2 2.4 281% 2.4 0.9
Total Revenue (USDm) 213.4 128.4 66% 39.5 21.2
Adjusted Revenue (USDm)3 117.2 40.3 191% 25.0 12.1
Segmental EBITDA (USDm)4 80.0 12.9 519% 16.1 4.9
Adjusted EBITDA (USDm)5 72.7 7.0 937% 13.5 2.6
Segmental EBITDA Margin (%) 68.3% 32.1% 64.5% 40.1%
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) 62.0% 17.4% 54.2% 21.8%
31-Mar-23 31-Mar-22
Gross Debt (IFRS) (USDm) 676.0 598.6 13%
Gross Debt ex IFRS 16 Leases (USDm) 615.9 534.7 15%
Net Debt ex IFRS 16 Leases (USDm) 497.5 435.0 14%
Cash and Cash Equivalents (USDm) 118.4 99.7 19%
Notes 1. All USD refers to United States Dollar unless otherwise
stated 2. Passenger numbers refer to consolidated and managed
portfolio consolidation perimeter; hence it excludesequity
accounted ports La Goulette, Lisbon, Singapore, Venice and Vigo. 3.
Adjusted revenue is calculated as total revenue excluding IFRIC-12
construction revenue 4. Segmental EBITDA includes the EBITDA from
all equity consolidated ports and the pro-rata Net Profit
ofequity-accounted associates La Goulette, Lisbon, Singapore,
Venice and Vigo and the contribution from managementagreements 5.
Adjusted EBITDA calculated as Segmental EBITDA less unallocated
(holding company) expenses
Key Highlights
-- GPH welcomed 9.2 million passengers across the consolidated
port network in the Reporting Period, a 281%increase on the prior
Reporting Period
-- Adjusted Revenue for the Reporting Period was USD 117.2
million, a 191% increase on the USD 40.3 millionin the prior
Reporting Period
-- Adjusted EBITDA rose 937% to USD 72.7 million, reflecting the
positive impact of the significantly higherpassenger volumes and
Adjusted Revenue and the continued tight control of OPEX, which
rose by just 34%. -- In the fourth quarter we added Alicante Cruise
Port to our network, signing a 15-year concessionagreement. This
took the total number of new ports added in the Reporting Period to
seven.
-- Based on current call lists across our current consolidated
and managed cruise port network wecurrently forecast to welcome
11.8 million passengers in the upcoming 2024 Reporting Period.
Passenger volumesare set to increase further as we expect to add
San Juan Cruise Port and St Lucia Cruise Port to the GPHnetwork in
the 2024 Reporting Period
-- Shortly after the end of the Reporting Period:? Nassau Cruise
Port successfully refinanced part of its indebtedness, reducing the
cost of debt asa result, and ? Ege Port entered into an extension
agreement, extending the current concession by additional
19years.
Balance Sheet
At 31 March 2023 IFRS Gross Debt was USD 676.0 million (Ex
IFRS-16 Leases Gross Debt: USD 615.9 million), compared to Gross
Debt at 31 March 2022 of USD 598.6 million (Ex IFRS-16 Leases Gross
Debt: USD 534.7 million).
The main drivers for the increase in Gross Debt were the partial
drawdown of the growth facility under the Sixth Street loan (USD
38.5 million) to finance the Ege Port concession extension,
additional loans and bonds to finance the expected CAPEX for recent
European acquisitions (Malta bond, and bank loans at Tarragona
Cruise Port and Canary Island Cruise Ports, combined USD 25.4
million), in addition to accrued (PIK) interest under the Sixth
Street loan partially offset by scheduled loan amortizations.
Net debt Ex IFRS-16 Leases was USD 497.5 million at the end of
the Reporting Period compared to USD 435.0 million as at 31 March
2022. At 31 March 2023, GPH had cash and cash equivalents of USD
118.4 million, compared to USD 99.7 million at 31 March 2022.
The additional Gross Debt incurred described above had no
material impact to Net Debt as the funds remained on balance sheet
as cash as at 31.03.2023 and have been invested shortly after the
end of the Reporting Period (Ege Extension) or will be invested
(debt raised for European expansion). The main driver of the
decrease in cash during the Reporting Period was Net Capital
expenditure of USD 107.1 million, the majority of which was for the
ongoing investment into Nassau Cruise Port, partially offset by
operating cash flows of approximately USD 60 million, reflecting
the growth in Adjusted EBITDA.
Nassau Cruise Port Re-financing
Shortly after the end of the Reporting Period, Nassau Cruise
Port successfully refinanced its local bond issued in June 2020.
The refinancing resulted in an increase in the nominal outstanding
amount to USD 145 million (from USD 134.4 million) and a reduction
in the fixed coupon to 6.0% (from 8.0%), reducing the annual
interest payment by USD 2.0 million. The maturity date of 2040
remains unchanged as does the principle repayment schedule which is
ten equal annual payments from June 2031. The bond remains
non-recourse to GPH or any other Group entity.
Ege Port, Kusadasi Concession Extension
Shortly after the end of the Reporting Period GPH was reached an
agreement to extend its concession agreement for Ege Port,
Kusadasi. The original concession agreement was due to expire in
July 2033, and following this extension agreement, the concession
will now expire in July 2052.
In exchange for the extension of the existing concession
agreement, Ege Port has paid an upfront concession fee of TRY 725.4
million (USD 38 million). In addition, Ege Port has committed to
invest up to a further 10% of the upfront concession fee within the
next 5 years into improving and enhancing the cruise port and
retail facilities at the port, and will pay a variable concession
fee equal to 5% of its gross revenues during the extension period
starting after July 2033.
The up-front concession fee payment has been financed by partial
utilisation, shortly before the end of the Reporting Period, of the
USD 75 million growth facility provided by Sixth Street, previously
announced on 24 May 2021 and approved by shareholders on 9 June
2021. As part of the additional draw down with Sixth Street, GPH
has issued further warrants to Sixth Street representing additional
2.0% of GPH's fully diluted share capital (in addition to warrants
issued at financial closing in July 2021 equivalent of 9.0% of
GPH's fully diluted share capital).
The upfront concession fee has been funded by a capital increase
at Ege Port. This capital increase was provided by GPH only, as a
result, GPH's equity stake in Ege Port has increased to 90.5% (from
72.5%).
Malta bond issuance
Shortly before the end of the Reporting Period, GPH, through a
100% owned SPV in Malta, issued EUR 18.1 million of unsecured bonds
due 2030 at the rate of 6.25% per annum. These bonds are guaranteed
by GPH, and the proceeds will be used to partially finance GPH's
investment plans for recent cruise port acquisitions in Europe.
Subordinated shareholder loans
Furthermore, GPH has received additional, long-term funding
support from its largest shareholder Global Investment Holding in
the form of additional subordinated shareholder loans to finance
project expenses for expansion projects, debt service and general
corporate purposes. As of the end of the Reporting Period, the
total amount of subordinated shareholders loans received from GIH
increased to approximately USD 25 million.
Operational Review
Given the strong performance of the Group and the continued
growth in the number of ports in the network, it was decided during
the Reporting Period to restructure the group's financial
reporting. GPH will now report by geographic segment, which matches
our organisational structure better.
Americas
GPH's operational performance in the Americas in the Reporting
Period includes GPH's two Caribbean ports, Antigua Cruise Port and
Nassau Cruise Port. Prince Rupert, Canada, which was added to the
network during the Reporting Period, did not welcome its first
cruise call until after the end of the Reporting Period.
Trading in the Americas region improved strongly, with passenger
volumes of 4.4 million for the Reporting Period compared to just
1.5 million in the prior Reporting Period.
Nassau Cruise Port benefitted from its proximity to the key home
ports in Florida and the cruise lines' near-term desire to operate
a higher volume than normal of short cruises in this area at the
expense of longer itineraries to other parts of the Caribbean. This
decision helped Nassau Cruise Port report a 196% increase in cruise
passengers to 3.8 million.
Nassau Cruise Port, on some days, is now hosting six cruise
ships simultaneously, utilising the new berthing that was created
as part of our significant investment into the port. On the 27th of
February 2023, the port welcomed a record 28,554 passengers in a
single day.
Our investment in the transformation of Nassau Cruise Port
continued throughout the Reporting Period. Our vision for this
iconic port is becoming a reality, and we believe this port will
stand as a testament globally to our cruise port and destination
development capabilities.
Due to the major US cruise lines focussing on short cruises
close to the Southern US home ports throughout the Winter 2022/23
cruise season, the recovery rate in passenger volumes at Southern
Caribbean cruise ports was less strong.
For GPH, this meant Antigua Cruise Port's cruise operations
recovered at a slower pace than that experienced by Nassau Cruise
Port. Cruise passenger volumes at Antigua Cruise Port of 556k in
the Reporting Period were up 135% from the 237k during the prior
Reporting Period.
Our Americas operations achieved a milestone in the last year
with the signing of our first cruise port concession in North
America. Signing a 10-year concession, with a 10-year extension
option, for Prince Rupert Cruise Port in British Columbia, Canada,
is an important step in our continued growth.
Prince Rupert Cruise Port is located at the heart of the British
Columbian cruise market, just 40 miles from Alaska, one of the
largest cruise markets in the world, and ideally placed for cruise
itineraries to and from the key homeports in the region: Seattle
and Vancouver.
Prince Rupert Cruise Port is expected to welcome nearly 80,000
passengers over the 2023 Alaskan summer cruise season. The port has
the infrastructure and capability to handle larger ships, and GPH
expects to drive a significant increase in passenger volumes in the
years ahead.
In August 2022, GPH signed a 30-year concession agreement for
San Juan Cruise Port, Puerto Rico. In October 2022, a Memorandum of
Understanding was signed for a 30-year concession, with a 10-year
extension option, for the cruise port of St Lucia. We expect to
welcome these ports into our network during the fiscal year 2024
Reporting Period.
West Med & Atlantic
GPH's operational performance for the West Med & Atlantic
region includes our Spanish ports Barcelona, Fuerteventura,
Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Malaga, Tarragona and Vigo, as well as
Kalundborg, Denmark, and the equity pick-up contribution from
Lisbon and Singapore. Alicante Cruise Port will start to contribute
in the 2024 Reporting Period.
Overall passenger volumes were 2.9 million, an increase of 450%
compared to the comparable Reporting Period. This strong
performance was despite the fact that, at the start of the
Reporting Period, the recovery in passenger volumes in this region
was negatively impacted by the uncertainty around the omicron
variant during the important 2022 booking season and the lower
onboard capacity limits set by the cruise lines as they ramped up
operations.
The easing of travel restrictions as the Reporting Period
progressed led to increased cruise activity across our West Med
& Atlantic region. Call volumes, particularly at Barcelona, the
largest port in the Mediterranean, were strong and by the end of
2022 season close to 2019 levels. However, occupancy rates, which
rose steadily throughout the Reporting Period, remained below
industry norms. The major cruise lines expect occupancy to reach
100%+ ahead of the summer season 2023.
Barcelona Cruise Port welcomed Valiant Lady for its inaugural
season, and we provided our new Integrated Services Package to the
ship throughout the season. Kalundborg Cruise Port, Denmark, marked
a milestone during the Reporting Period when it welcomed AIDAnova,
the largest ship to ever call at the port.
The West Med & Atlantic network grew its cruise port
footprint further during the Reporting Period. At the beginning of
the Reporting Period, Tarragona Cruise Port joined the network
after we signed a 12-year concession with a 6-year extension
option. This port recently underwent a EUR 30 million investment
into the port infrastructure by the port authority, including a new
cruise pier and the provision of shore power. Under the terms of
the concession agreement, GPH will invest into building a new
state-of-the-art modular cruise terminal expected to cost around
EUR 5.5 million, which will utilise solar power to ensure the
sustainable provision of the terminal's energy needs.
We added three new ports to the network when GPH's 80:20 joint
venture with a local partner signed concession agreements for three
ports in the Canary Islands: Las Palmas Cruise Port (40 years),
Lanzarote Cruise Port (20 years) and Fuerteventura Cruise Port (20
years). As part of the agreements, the joint venture will invest
approximately EUR 40 million into constructing a new cruise
terminal in Las Palmas and modular terminal facilities in Lanzarote
and Fuerteventura. These three cruise ports handled 1.5 million
cruise passenger movements in 2019, compared to 0.8 million
passengers handled since the takeover late in 2022, a period which
was characterized by the recovery towards pre-pandemic levels,
ramp-up phase by GPH and only partially covered the main winter
season.
Shortly before the end of Reporting Period, we added Alicante
Cruise Port, Spain, when we a 15-year cruise port concession with
the same partner and the same joint venture structure as in the
Canary Island.
Central Med
Our Central Med region includes Valletta Cruise Port, Malta,
GPH's four Italian ports (Cagliari, Catania, Crotone and Taranto)
and the equity pick-up contribution from La Goulette, Tunisia and
Venice Cruise Port, Italy.
Trading in this region was similar to that experienced in the
West Med & Atlantic region, with cruise calls rising strongly
compared to the prior Reporting Period but with lower than-normal
occupancy levels. Although, like with the West Med, occupancy
levels rose as the Reporting Period progressed.
The Central Med region, driven by Valletta Cruise Port, GPH's
largest port in this region, welcomed 1.0 million passengers in the
Reporting Period, a significant increase from the 328k passengers
welcomed in the comparable period but 26% lower than the 1.4m
welcomed in the 12 months to March 2020.
The work to complete the EUR 49.9 million Grand Harbour clean
air project in Valletta is progressing well. Infrastructure Malta
and Transport Malta are funding this project, which includes a EUR
37 million investment to provide shore power to five cruise ship
quays and is expected to complete shortly. We were delighted when
Valletta Cruise Port was awarded "World's Best Cruise Terminal for
Sustainability" by the World Cruise Awards.
Elsewhere, we extended the concession at Cagliari, at no cost,
by two years and Taranto Cruise Port was awarded Destination of the
Year at the Seatrade Cruise Awards.
We were delighted when La Goulette Cruise Port, welcomed the
return of cruise passengers during the Reporting Period. After a
seven-year break, this was an important moment for La Goulette
Cruise Port, the country of Tunisia and all of our local
stakeholders.
East Med & Adriatic
GPH's East Med & Adriatic operations include the flagship
Turkish port Ege Port in Kusadasi, as well as Bodrum Cruise Port,
Turkiye and Zadar Cruise Port, Croatia. In this region, the impact
on passenger volumes of lower than-normal occupancy levels was
outshone by the significant increase in cruise calls compared to
the comparable Report Period.
Passenger numbers in the East Med & Adriatic region were
905k, a significant increase from the 21k welcomed last fiscal year
and the 351k in the 12 months to March 2020. This strong recovery
in passenger volumes was driven by the performance of our Turkish
ports.
In 2017, our Turkish ports suffered a sharp drop in passenger
numbers due to geo-political issues. In early calendar year 2020,
bookings from the cruise lines indicated that Ege Port would report
a strong recovery in passenger volume numbers. Unfortunately, the
onset of the Covid-19 pandemic meant this expected recovery did not
materialise.
Despite the lower-than-normal occupancy levels across the
industry in the Reporting Period, the pent-up demand to return to
cruising to Turkish ports drove the strong performance in the East
Med & Adriatic region.
During the Reporting Period, Ege Port, Kusadasi welcomed Odyssey
of the Seas, the largest ever cruise ship to call at a Turkish
port. Zadar hosted a record four ships simultaneously. These
achievements further underpin the expected growth across the
industry in terms of the number of cruise ships in the global
cruise fleet and the size of those ships.
On the 6th of February 2023, an earthquake in east of Turkiye
caused significant damage to buildings and infrastructure and
caused a humanitarian crisis. The earthquake had no impact to our
Turkish cruise ports or the communities they are located in, but we
opened our cruise ports in Turkiye to help support the relief
efforts. The ports were utilised as logistics centers and provided
temporary accommodation for some of the victims. In all of our
destinations, we set up an earthquake relief campaign in
collaboration with local and international NGOs at our ports.
Other
Our Other reporting segment includes our commercial port Port of
Adria, Montenegro, our management agreement for Ha Long Cruise
Port, Vietnam and the contribution from our new Port Services
Businesses.
Our Port Services are services aimed at enhancing cruise
passengers' overall experience in the port and destination. Our
services include Destination and Shoreside Services such as Guest
Information Centers and Transportation services, crew services,
Area & Terminal management services such as Retail and
Duty-Free shops and food and beverage outlets and Crew Services
such as catering and transportation services for crew and crew
lounges.
We are focused on growing our Port Services at GPH-operated
cruise ports and ports operated by third parties. During the
Reporting Period, we provided a range of Port Services to Virgin
Voyages' ships at Spanish ports. At Barcelona, we provided and
managed an encompassing range of services directly or via third
parties, including stevedoring, port agency and crew services. We
also provide services at our ports in Málaga and Lisbon and an
additional four non-GPH Spanish ports. This agreement is an
exciting development and an important first step in our ambitions
to grow our Port Services revenues.
As a result of the change to our financial reporting, we no
longer report Port of Adria's performance separately, reflecting
our strategic focus on cruise operations and the fact Port of
Adria's EBITDA contribution to the Group is small. Trading at Port
of Adria was stable during the Reporting Period with single-digit
growth in EBITDA. The Board of Global Ports Holding continues to
consider its options regarding Port of Adria, including its
potential sale.
Outlook
The scheduled launch of new cruise ships in the year ahead means
the number of available berths across the global cruise fleet will
reach all-time highs in 2024, and when combined with industry
occupancy rates reaching pre-Covid-19 levels, the industry will be
propelled to exciting new highs.
Industry booking patterns have been rebuilt to market norms over
the last 12 months, and all major cruise lines have reported record
booking trends for 2023.
Looking further into the future, long-established demand and
supply trends in the cruise industry have re-established themselves
as key drivers of cruise industry growth. According to Cruise
Industry News, by the end of 2027, passenger capacity in the cruise
industry is forecast to grow to over 40 million, a growth rate of
45% from pre-covid levels.
The medium to long-term demand trends have been largely
unaffected by Covid-19. The growing appetite for leisure travel, if
anything, has perhaps been increased by Covid-19. The introduction
of so many new classes of cruise ships in such a short time
reflects the industry's drive to continue attracting new
customers.
Before Covid,-19, it was a requirement for many cruise ports to
invest significantly in their infrastructure to meet the needs of
the growing number of cruise ships and the growing size of cruise
ships as well as the increased demand from passengers for an
improved cruise port experience. Those requirements have re-emerged
even stronger, as the anticipated growth in the industry brings
exciting prospects and potential risks for those involved in the
cruise port industry. Cruise ports will face some substantial
obstacles due to the growing size of cruise ships and the
continuous growth and segmentation of the passenger base.
GPH's significant experience and know-how in port and
destination development and global cruise port operations, honed
from our experiences worldwide, means we are well-positioned to
play a primary role in this investment and industry growth in the
years ahead.
In the 2024 Reporting Period, we expect to welcome 11.8 million
passengers to our consolidated and managed cruise port portfolio. A
more detailed financial outlook will be provided when GPH releases
its financial statements for the Reporting Period. Our inorganic
growth aspirations continue and we expect to add San Juan Cruise
Port and St Lucia Cruise Port to the network in the 2024 Reporting
Period with additional opportunities under review.
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ISIN: GB00BD2ZT390
Category Code: TST
TIDM: GPH
LEI Code: 213800BMNG6351VR5X06
Sequence No.: 243497
EQS News ID: 1632433
End of Announcement EQS News Service
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