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Good afternoon. This is the Chorus Call conference operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the ENAV First Quarter 2022 Financial Results and 2022-'24 Business Plan Overview Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Vittorio De Domenico, Head of Investor Relations of ENAV. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you, Judith, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome, everybody, to the ENAV first quarter results call. I'm joined here by Mr. Paolo Simioni, CEO; and Mr. Luca Colman, ENAV CFO. They will run you to the formal presentation. After that, we will be happy to answer your questions.
And with that, I leave the floor to Paolo.
Thank you, Vittorio, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to ENAV's first quarter 2022 results call.
Before commenting on ENAV results, let me remark 2 key elements. The first one, the European Commission on April 13 has notified to Italian state that the performance target included in the performance plan submitted in November 2021 are compliant with the EU-wide target for the third regulatory period. In the coming days, the EU Commission will publish the implementing decision.
The second one, starting from January 1, 2022, we are in a back-to-normal situation with regulation at prepandemic conditions, tariff reset to take into account COVID-related lower traffic volumes and standard prepandemic seasonality in both traffic and ENAV profit and loss quarterly trend.
In the first quarter 2022, despite COVID-19's Omicron virus spread, we have seen a solid year-on-year recovery in en-route and terminal traffic, which were both almost 3x first quarter 2021 service units and reached 82.2% and 74.9%, respectively, over 2019 levels. Net revenue in the first quarter 2022 were EUR 168.1 million, decreasing 11.1% year-on-year due to lower balance accrued in the period following the different methodology applied last year in the balance calculation. For this reason, the year-on-year comparison is not meaningful given to the quarter are not homogeneous.
On this specific topic, Luca will provide you more details when commenting revenue performance.
Revenue for operation tripled year-on-year following the solid traffic recovery, and revenue from nonregulated business grew 22% year-on-year. EBITDA was EUR 15.2 million, down year-on-year, mainly due to the revenue decrease. EBITDA margin stood at 9%. We recorded a net loss of EUR 15.4 million in the first quarter, which traditionally is the weakest in the year following the standard seasonality in our profit and loss quarterly trend in line with the pre-COVID years. CapEx was EUR 13.1 million, in line with the provided guidance. Net financial debt rise in the first quarter 2022 and reached EUR 478.5 million compared with EUR 484 million at the end of 2021. Net debt on full year 2021 EBITDA stood at 2.15x. Cash balance at the end of the quarter for EUR 219 million to remain more than adequate, especially considering that we generate the largest part of our cash during the summer season, saw in the next quarter.
On Slide 3, we can see en-route traffic performance. Service unit reported a 168.5% year-on-year increase despite spread of Omicron variant in the quarter. Within en-route traffic, international segment increased 263.4% year-on-year. National grew 184.8%, and overflight was up 130.4%. Overflight confirms to be the most important component within the en-route mix accounting for 41% of total traffic, while international for 34% and national for 25%.
First quarter 2022 traffic was 80 -- 82.2% of that -- were recorded in the first quarter 2019, with March 2022 at 89% of the traffic managed in March 2019. The positive traffic trend seen in previous quarters is also proved by the number of total managed flights. In the first week of May, we reached 90% of those reported in the same period of 2019, including also terminal.
For what concern terminal traffic, service unit reported 191.7% year-on-year increase, showing solid performance in all 3 zones. The international component went up 226.7%, and the domestic component grew 168.8%. First quarter 2022 terminal traffic was in trend with previous quarters and reached 75% of 2019 first quarter volume.
And with that, I leave the floor to Luca.
Thank you, Paolo, and good afternoon to all you on the call.
Moving to next slide. Total revenue were at EUR 168.1 million, decreasing by 11.1% year-on-year. As you can see from the graph, en-route revenue increased by 234% and terminal revenue by 223.5%, thanks to year-on-year traffic recovery. Therefore, balance accrued in the year was 90.5% lower than the last year. This balance decrease reflects a back-to-normal situation from the regulatory point of view, and that's a very good thing.
Let me remind you that in the first quarter 2021, balance calculation methodology flight took into account actual costs of ENAV instead of actual traffic volumes. This different methodology, in fact, related standard prepandemic seasonality in our revenue trend, as you probably remember, flattening quarter-on-quarter deltas and making the first quarter of the year not fully comparable with the last year.
Being back to normal on the regulatory front means also back to normal in the group quarterly revenue trend, which is now subject again to the traffic seasonality. This seasonality implies a not homogeneous split of the economic and the financial results in the quarters. It's foreseen to reach during the summer season the highest operating revenue, which are closely connected to traffic volumes, while cost during the quarters remains substantially stable, thus leaving the first quarter as the weakest in the year.
Starting from 1st January 2022, we have reset tariffs as per our performance plan to adapt those to the updated traffic forecast, which considers new expected traffic volumes slightly lower than 2019.
With regards to balance accrued in the first quarter, the EUR 12.4 million included in the revenue are mainly related to Terminal Zone 3.
Moving now to the not-regulated business. We can see a double-digit increase year-on-year in nonregulated revenue, which reached EUR 6 million in the first quarter. The solid performance was mainly driven by IDS AirNav and ENAV commercial activities.
Moving to the next page with cost evolution. We can see also on our costs as already mentioned is back to normal, especially from the traffic point of view. First quarter 2022 total operating costs increased 5.9% year-on-year and was mainly related to the variable component of personnel and other operational costs. Personnel costs went up by 4.6% year-on-year due to a rise in a variable remuneration coming from the increase in managed flights, which caused also the increase in social security contributions.
Looking at external costs. Those increased by 12.3% year-on-year again due to the increase in traffic recorded in the quarter. The increase was mainly attributable to cost of energy for EUR 2.3 million, costs related to the nonregulated these activities for EUR 0.5 million and other costs related to operating personnel travels was EUR 0.4 million.
Let's now take a look to ENAV's total revenue and EBITDA evolution in the first quarter 2022 compared to the first quarter 2021. Total revenue decreased 11.1% year-on-year, mainly driven by lower balance for EUR 118.7 million as a result of the solid air traffic and operating revenue recovery as well as by different methodology applied last year in the balance calculation, as already mentioned. This decrease was partially offset by the strong performance in en-route and terminal revenue, which contributed year-on-year for EUR 70.4 million and EUR 26.2 million. Nonregulated business contributed to total revenue growth with EUR 1.1 million.
EBITDA stood at EUR 15.2 million, decreasing year-on-year as a consequence of the above-mentioned movements in revenue, coupled with the rise in costs driven by the traffic post-pandemic recovery. EBITDA margin at 9% in the first quarter of 2022 reflects the back-to-normal seasonality where the first quarter, as already said, is the weakest in the year. This is actually in line with the internal forecast that we have.
Let's now look at items below EBITDA. D&A decreased by 7% year-on-year, mainly as a consequence of reduced capital expenditure in the recent past. Provisions and write-downs were EUR 1.1 million in the first quarter and prudentially include EUR 0.9 million of write-downs linked to the Russian customers. As already occurred in '21 quarters, we have a positive financial income and expenses mainly related to the previous year's balance actualization.
Moving now to income taxes. We can see a EUR 2.9 million increase, mainly due to a negative taxable income in the quarter, coupled with deferred taxation effect. As a result of this movement in the P&L, we recorded a net loss in the quarter for EUR 15.4 million, which is in line with ENAV's prepandemic quarterly trend that affected through the traffic seasonality, as I said before, is in line with the internal forecast of the company.
So moving to the next slide. We summarize ENAV's liquidity and financial position, which remained solid, despite seasonality affecting the first quarter results and traffic volumes still a bit lower than those recorded in '19. We closed the quarter with EUR 219 million of cash, adding additional new credit lines for EUR 294 million, out of which EUR 220 million are committed. Net financial debt stood at EUR 479 million, improving compared with a net debt of EUR 484 million at the end of 2021. The good performance was mainly driven by the dynamics of the trade receivables and payables related to ordinary operations, which reflected the recovery of air traffic.
As we said in the last results call, we expect to be cash positive in the full year 2022 given the tariff has been reset and aligns to the profit forecast for the year. Net debt on the full year 2021 EBITDA for the first quarter stood at 2.15x compared with [ 2.70x ] reached at the end of the last year. Excluding from net debt, the noncurrent trade payable for EUR 42 million recorded in the quarter, net debt on full year '21 EBITDA would have been 1.96x.
And with that, I leave the floor again to Paolo for an overview of our new business plan.
Thank you, Luca. And first of all, I'm so pleased to inform you that today, the Board of Directors has approved our 2022-2024 business plan. And I know -- I now [ lend ] you some information and overview regarding that.
And as the management performed a strategic review of air traffic control management, developing the new 2022-2024 business plan, which is part of our long-term strategic future vision with 10 years horizon, the business plan is purely oriented to the sustainable success of the group, keeping, as always, safety as main priority and increasing value for all stakeholders, harmonizing sharp medium-term results with a long-term vision included in the Future Sky 2031.
We are, in fact, aware that the creation of truly sustainable value for all stakeholders must look not only to the short term or medium term, but also to the long term. It takes into account RP3 framework and time line with the related performance plan and has been developed starting from the previous business plan to which new leap has been added. Based on innovation and digitalization of group processes and infrastructures keeps the human factor at the center of the strategy and pushes on personal professional growth and integration of the new digital native resources.
It confirms main strategical projects shared in the previous business plan and defines a new timeline for their implementation. It also includes new market needs, came out from the recent half such as higher flexibility, scalability in providing core services.
The new plan includes new emerging businesses such as drones and foreseeing the utilization of innovative cutting-edge technologies. Those will enable the group to improve the quality of service provided, keeping the highest available level of safety and announcing at the same time our sustainability. Finally, the new business plan defines all investments needed to realize the project included in it and to improve our current top-notch operational performance.
Moving to the next slide. You can find the 4 main objectives of the new business plan. Today, ENAV is a leader in Europe in providing ATM services. And we want to maintain and enhance this leadership relying on the evolution of our technical and operational model, purely exploiting the potential coming from automation and virtualization applicable to the core business.
For what concerns nonregulated business, we aim to become a global market leader in all contestable markets. We will strengthen our offer portfolio, including new digital solutions such as remote towers and satellites [ surveyors ] and will explore new market segments such as the one including services for the management of drones.
The third objective is to make ENAV a fully digital and sustainable company. We aim to be a leader in ATM/UTM technology, becoming the best-in-class in digitization of the core businesses and all internal processes in a more sustainable way.
Finally, we plan to become a catalyst for young and talented people. The target is to be the best place to work, thanks to our positioning at the frontier of technologies and thanks to our corporate culture oriented towards innovation and diversity.
In the present slide, you can see the timeline for the development of both the business plan and the wider future strategic vision, Future Sky 2031. In 2020 and 2021, we have seen resilient, guaranteeing service continuity in a crisis scenario determined by COVID-19 pandemic, containing total spending and safeguarding our people. Starting from this year, it's time to push on our digital growth, paving the way for the launch of the group and renewing ENAV's role as an efficient and innovative player in the core business and in the nonregulated activities. We'll focus on digitization and innovation, aiming to become a fully digital organization, mainly through process innovation, harmonization of IT system and the use of new technologies such as data science, artificial intelligence and cloud.
With regard to what we have called the Future Sky, the plan is to continuously renew ourselves in order to enhance sustainability, improve efficiency and consolidate our leadership role in the single European sky scenario.
In the next slide, we explain our sustainability as basement of our business plan. And before diving into this main project, the business plan backbone, I would like to show the ESG framework, which surrounds and [ elevates ] the business plan. This framework is built on the group's sustainability assets, which are based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and defines a series of tangible actions we are committed to. All the actions we'll undertake and all the projects we will develop have an impact on some of the Sustainable Development Goals and will improve the group's sustainability in the coming years.
In order to achieve in the most sustainable way the 4 objectives previously described, we have identified 6 pillar on which we have built our business plan and are the basement of our long-term strategic vision. As shown in the slide, there are 3 vertical pillars directly linked to our operations and 3 horizontal pillars, which are transversal to the others and will be the business plan main enablers. All 6 pillars are growth under a common umbrella, which define our main priority and maintain a paramount target of maximum safety. In time, this common umbrella is itself included within a wider concept, the environmental, social and economic sustainability of ENAV group.
So the first pillar is about technological and operational excellence and includes most important projects such as the new technical operation model, the new ATM platform, a new maintenance management model. The second pillar is about digital innovation, which foreseen innovative digital solution to be applied to ATM such as vitalization and cloudification, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, only to name the most important. The third pillar is about a new market positioning, where we will enhance our offer portfolio and improve our capability to work worldwide, exploiting innovative services for new emerging businesses such as drones.
The fourth pillar is about corporate efficiency and the development of ATM services at the end users' benefit. The fifth one is about the evolution of our corporate structure to enhance the focus of the group companies in line with the market future requirements. The sixth pillar talks about people, our most important asset, its professional growth and is strengthening in order to be and remain a future-proof company.
As previously said, the first pillar that we may see in this slide is about technological and operational excellence and includes ENAV's most important project. We are talking of projects such as the consolidation from 4 to 2 of our area control centers, the remote tower development, the new ATM platform and the new centralized model for maintenance management, just to mention only the main ones.
As you can see in the slide, with this pillar, we aim to obtain an increase in productivity, flexibility, scalability in providing ATM services to airlines, improving customers' experience and positioning ENAV as a worldwide technological leader. The positive effect arising from the implementation of this project will be a growth rightsizing without any layoffs, but leveraging our retirements and voluntary exits to be partially compensated by new, young and talented resources. Additional benefits will be a more balanced workload for all personnel and cost savings in the medium to long term.
Within the project included in the first pillar, this slide show you the most important for the group are the consolidation of our control centers and amortization of 26 control towers. These are projects on which we are already working, were included in the previous business plan and will be a transformational event for the entire ATM system, a new and more efficient way to manage ENAV operational network. As you know, we currently manage on en-route activity through 4 ACCs located in Rome, Milan, Brindisi and Padova, and we manage terminal activities from our towers located in 45 airports nationwide.
By leveraging on the new technologies available and investing on the increased qualification of our personnel, the project foreseen to have only 2 are the control center in Rome and Milan that will manage all en-route activity in Italy. In order to preserve and leverage the competencies and strong local presence, the Brindisi and Padova centers will be reconfigured into remote towers hub, each of which will manage the control tower activities of 13 airports throughout Italy, becoming the 2 largest remote tower control center in Europe. The ACC consolidation will be fully completed by the end of 2028, while the amortization of the tower by -- at the end of 2030.
From an operational point of view, the new configuration will enable us to manage the higher volume of traffic with a better management of peaks in the activity as well as improving the level of service we offer on smaller airports with low-traffic volumes. In the short term, the Brindisi Remote Tower will start operating this year with the completion of the first 6 remote towers expected by year-end 2024. By the end of 2024 also, first tranches of sector will be migrated from Brindisi ACC to Roma ACC with the completion of the migration expected by year-end 2026. At [ ACC ], we will manage our activity with an optimally-sized organization and a more balanced workload of personnel. The plan foresees material investment in training and requalification of personnel to support new competencies required. The main focus, as said, is on the professional development of our people, which is our key assets, to ensure an effective job rotation and increased career opportunities for all of them.
In the next slide, we see the pillar 2. It's all focused on digital innovation. This means to push on digital transformation of our operational system-related processes through the harmonization of the utilized software as well as the development of tailored new applications. Main project will be performed consisting of the virtualization and the cloudification of ATM services, relying on hyper-automation tools with artificial intelligence and Internet of Things. We will develop innovative digital solution based on big data and machine learning to manage the massive amount of information on which is based our [ core ] businesses.
The target of this digital innovation is to facilitate the core business evolution and accelerate the nonregulated business expansion. We aim to become an incubator for innovative digital solution to anticipate the future technological needs and development. Doing that, we will improve the quality of the service provided, and we will open additional business opportunity in the new markets through the generation of new services and partnerships.
The third pillar is focused on a group market position -- new group market positioning in order to boost the nonregulated business segment. We have already started to enhance and integrate group products and offering, defining and implementing new services for the other ASPs and for new emerging business segment such as the one related to drones.
We are currently present in approximately [ under-counted answer], 100 countries worldwide, and we plan to expand our presence further, upselling the existing customer base and enlarging it. We have also started to develop new services for drones while the European regulator is working on implementation of new roles for the sector expected to be effective in the first half of 2023. With this strategy, we would be the first company in Italy capable to offer services to drones aiming to become a national leader leveraging on the first-mover opportunity.
This slide is about the horizontal pillars. These are transversal to the first 3 and will be functional to be successful implementation. They still are about corporate efficiency, corporate structure evolution and empowering people. In order to increase our corporate efficiency, the group's sustainability and enhanced internal work flexibility and efficiency, we have already started several activity -- activities, out of which the most important is the internalization of some ATM platform maintenance activities to gain know-how, reduce dependency from suppliers and related costs. We will also go through a rationalization of group's offices and the implementation of several initiatives to reduce energy consumption with a positive effect for the environment and for our cost structure.
The organizational evolution of our fifth pillar is the enable -- that will help us to better respond to the new challenges. We will enhance the focus of the group's companies in line with the future market requirements, strengthening our presence in unexplored markets, increasing our nonregulated revenue.
Last but not least, the sixth one pillar, which talk about people, our most important asset. We keep human resources at the center of our strategy with the current process of growth and integration of new resources. We will focus on the evolution of staff skills to enhance digital and innovation capabilities in order to be and remain a future-proof company.
After that, this overview of our main business plan growth drivers, let me provide you some financial targets. We expect to deliver mid-single-digit total revenue CAGR over the period 2022-2024. Nonregulated business is expected to grow, reaching approximately EUR 50 million in 2024.
We will continue to focus on the optimization of costs, and we, therefore, expect EBITDA to grow with a high single-digit CAGR. Thanks to above, we target an EBIT margin of approximately 17% by the end of 2024.
As anticipated at the beginning of the business plan overview, we will invest significant resources over the coming years in line with the annual pre-COVID pandemic amounts. And therefore, we expect a cumulative CapEx for the period 2022-2024 to be in the region of EUR 350 million that become approximately EUR 1 billion in the period 2022-2031.
And with that, we are ready to answer your questions.
[Operator Instructions] The first question is from Aleksandra Arsova with Equita.
There are a couple of questions on my end. The first one, you didn't provide, as far as I understand, an outlook on the dividend policy. So maybe can you provide us some more color on this? And then the second one, you were -- you are providing this new business plan with, let's say, effects to be seen in the next 5 to 10 years. At a certain point, you were mentioning some, let's say, cost efficiencies, activities and, let's say, transformation like new people arriving, but other people going away. So when we will see the effects of this -- the first effect of this -- of these initiatives?
For what concerns the dividend question, I confirm another time that the company provide an adequate return to each shareholders like ENAV has always done, but ensuring that this does not [ stress ] the medium-term prospects of the company. So we did something a few days ago regarding that. I think this is a good horizon to go forward.
For the second question, let me say that, first of all, we are waiting for the commission that we published on the EU implementing decision, and it will be published to understand what we need to give to the key public, first of all. And second of all, let me say that in line with what Paolo said, all our business plan foreseen with the detail within 2024, but our future vision is through 2030. And this is something that we have planned. But at the moment, we don't give any particular detail. So let me say that the technologies that we are implementing with our project will bring us a positive effect to the company in general terms.
Okay. And just a brief follow-up, if I may. Do you have in mind maybe for the medium term like in 2024 a target leverage, leverage ratio, like net debt on EBITDA or other -- what do you have in mind?
Yes. We are thinking about it. We are waiting for -- to have -- I mean, to continue this back to normal for this year. In our business plan, we have forecast that foreseen -- as you can imagine, the situation will improve year after year. And as we already said, we are going to use this extra cash coming above from the balance with the 3 main pillars. The first one is give back to the shareholders part of that amount of money. Second, we'll try to adjust the capital structure that we have at the moment. And the third pillar is to have some M&A acquisition in line with the growth of the group.
The next question is from John Campbell with Bank of America.
One question, if I can. I'm interested to know if you're able to share any information on your latest traffic trends. As I understand, for 2022, you expect en-route traffic to be about 85% of 2019 levels. Do you think there is upside risk to this current forecast?
Yes. I would say yes, definitely. At the moment, we have just a preview of the service units that we have recorded in April, even if it's not still the final official number. Let me say that we are closing April -- we have closed April in a range of around 94% of the level of traffic recorded before the COVID. So this is definitely good. So to your question to your -- answer to your question, sorry, is yes, probably, yes, we will have -- volume of traffic by the end of the year maybe higher than 85%.
[Operator Instructions] The next question is from Nicolò Pessina with Mediobanca.
On the 2024 targets, I would like to ask if you can give us some color on the evolution of the workforce. If there is any year where you foresee part of a workforce -- a sizable relevant part of the workforce to retire, how many hirings you are planning? And second question on Aireon, if you forecast any contribution to be in a P&L from this investment?
Yes. So what concerns the first question, Nicolò, let me say that the traffic is increasing. This is definitely good. But the company is kind of well balanced with the people that we go out of the company, with the people that will come in, in the company. So it would be more or less a balanced situation. This is within -- sorry, this is within in general sense. So let me say that the net effect could be, I mean, a little bit better by the end of 2024 in terms of number of people.
Sorry, Nicolò, your second question, can you repeat it?
Do you foresee any contribution to the P&L from Aireon?
At the moment, I don't foresee to distribute dividend in 2024. So let me say, if we look at this business plan by the end of this business plan, we will have the first dividend from Aireon. So the answer is yes, by just the last year of the year.
Sure. If I may go back to the increased -- the evolution of the OpEx. I mean if we assume -- well, if I understand correctly, top line growing mid-single-digit, EBITDA growing high single-digit, implies OpEx growing also mid-single-digit. So this is essentially labor cost inflation in my understanding. And therefore, assuming a fairly stable or even slightly decreasing workforce, I would expect salaries to increase in the mid- to high single-digit range. Is it correct?
Yes. I would say that you just get the point. You got the point.
[Operator Instructions] The next question is a follow-up from Aleksandra Arsova with Equita.
A follow-up on inflation. You're mentioning the effect on inflation on OpEx and on personnel costs, but what about revenue as the top line? Since you are protected from inflation and you get the so-called -- the balance from inflation, so do you see a potential upside, especially in 2022 from inflation balance? Did your previous guidance you provided for 2022 already include a balance on inflation? Or is it on top?
Yes, that will be on top because the inflation that is in the tariff now is the one that is foreseen by IMF when we made the performance plans on last year. And as we said, we always recover by regulatory framework, thanks to the regulatory framework of the actual inflation. So by the end of this year, we will record the actual inflation, and we will adjust with the one plan in the tariff, and we will ask the difference with the balanced mechanism.
[Operator Instructions] Mr. De Domenico, there are no more questions registered at this time.
Thank you very much, Judith. Thank you, everybody, who was on the call. Thank you, Paolo. Thank you, Luca. For any other further questions you may have, you have our contact in IR in Rome. Please don't hesitate to contact us. Thank you, and have a nice evening.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining. The conference is now over and you may disconnect your telephones.