ASL AVIATION HOLDINGS 2017 ASL AVIATION HOLDINGS DESIGNATED ACTIVITY COMPANY Directors’ report and financial statements Year ended 31 December 2017 Registered number: 361394 CONTENTS Directors and other information 01 Directors’ report 02 Statement of directors’ responsibilities in respect of the directors’ report and the financial statements 05 Independent auditor’s report to the members of ASL Aviation Holdings Designated Activity Company 06 Consolidated income statement 09 Consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income 10 Consolidated statement of financial position 11 Company statement of financial position 13 Consolidated statement of changes in equity 15 Company statement of changes in equity 17 Consolidated statement of cash flows 18 Company statement of cash flows 19 Notes forming part of the consolidated financial statements 20 DIRECTORS & OTHER INFORMATION Directors Bankers L. Criel (Belgian) Bank of Ireland H. Flynn The Mall H. Millar Malahide Co. Dublin K. Ottevaere (Belgian) A. Saverys (Belgian) Lloyds TSB Bank plc L. Saverys (Belgian) 43 Irongate Derby E. Verkest (Belgian) DE1 3FT United Kingdom Secretary N. O’Connor Solicitors Matheson Registered office 70 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay Dublin 2 No 3 Malahide Road Swords Co. Dublin Registered number 361394 Auditor KPMG Chartered Accountants 1 Stokes Place St. Stephen’s Green Dublin 2 01 | ASL Aviation Holdings Financial Report 2017 DIRECTORS’ REPORT The directors present their annual report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017. Principal activities, business review and the continued reliability and quality of our service which distinguishes us from our competition. future developments ASL Aviation Holdings Designated Activity Company (“ASL”, The Group strategy remains managing and consolidating “the Company” and/or “the Group”) is a joint venture the airlines division of the business. The focus remains undertaking between Compagnie Maritime Belge NV (“CMB”) on acquiring aircraft with a view to operating them within and 3P Air Freighters Limited (“3P”). the Group and associate airlines. The Group expenditure on fleet acquisitions was €55.4m. The aircraft will be used The principal activities of the Group during the year were as internally in the airline division. follows: The Group periodically reviews the carrying value of the • Provision of air cargo transport services to the integrator fleet and compares it to the market value to ensure that and postal markets there is no material impairment. The Group actively • Provision of air passenger transport services trades in aircraft and is well placed to take advantage of opportunities when they arise particularly if the fleet • Aircraft leasing profile no longer fits with customer’s needs and the Group’s • Other aviation related services objectives. The Group produced an improved set of trading results for During the year the Group disposed of fleet assets with a the 2017 financial year given the continued challenging net book value €38.8m and the Group continued its focus trading conditions experienced across the industry sector. on modernising the existing fleet and improving aircraft The Group’s strategic alignment and focus on core activities utilisations. continued during the year, and the Group disposed of three subsidiaries involved in aviation support activities. The “platform for growth” strategy continues as the The Group recorded a profit for the year of €15.3m (2016: consolidation of our operations across our European €4.2m). network is implemented. The global growth opportunities continue to be developed across the other non-European Revenue increased by 30% to €957.8m, reflecting the full airlines with particular focus on the ASEAN and South year impact of ASL Airlines Belgium which was acquired on African regions. While continuing to expand and develop 4 May 2016. other investment opportunities, the Group will remain focused on cost rationalisation and ensuring that the The industry continues to be extremely cost sensitive. most efficient structure remains in place to exceed the While volume appears to be showing some positive signs expectations of our customers profitably. in the short term, the pricing pressures are expected to continue which will continue to negatively impact margin and The Group is reviewing the impact of International Financial the viability of certain operations. We as a Group continue Reporting Standard 16 Leases (IFRS 16) on the operations of to strive to be as cost competitive as possible however it is the Group and the financial reporting requirements of this standard. ASL Aviation Holdings Financial Report 2017 | 02 Results and dividends without incurring unacceptable losses or risking damage to the Group’s reputation. The results for the year have been presented on page 9 and in the related notes. The directors do not recommend payment The Group prepares cash forecasts and monitors liquidity of a dividend. levels to ensure that it maintains sufficient working capital balances to support the regular operations of the Group in the Principal risks and uncertainties short term. In the long term substantial cash requirements for Financial risk is managed within the framework set out by business expansion are financed from external borrowings or the board of directors and includes regular assessments capital contributions. and monitoring of risks within the Group. The Group has outsourced its internal audit function to an audit firm which During the year the Group repaid its shareholder loans performs periodic risk evaluations and reviews as and when (€39.2m). directed by the Audit Committee. The directors are very careful to ensure that capital Companies which own and lease aircraft are exposed to commitments are funded prior to entering into a changes in the underlying fair values of the aircraft and binding commitment or that access to funding for capital associated lease rates. While aircraft values have been commitments is reasonably assured. impacted by the current economic cycle, the directors remain Interest rate risk confident that the carrying values are appropriate. The Group is exposed to interest rate risk through its The Company has exposure to the following risks from its use borrowings and deposits. A proportion of the Group’s of financial instruments: borrowings have fixed interest rates and the Group also uses interest rate swaps in order to mitigate some of this risk. • Credit risk Currency risk • Liquidity risk The Group is exposed to currency risk since a number of its • Interest rate risk aircraft related activities are denominated in US dollar which is the base currency worldwide for aircraft leasing, aircraft • Currency risk values and maintenance activity. The Group is exposed to Credit risk movements in the Swiss Franc through its subsidiary ASL The Group has a concentration of credit risk in the postal Airlines Switzerland. The holding company has advanced and integrator markets which are its primary customers. The loans to and received loans from subsidiary companies for the large majority of these customers are multi-national or state purposes of working capital loans, investment and treasury managed companies and the directors consider our exposure management. These loans are typically denominated in the to be minimal. base currency of the underlying subsidiary. The Group also has a concentration of credit risk in relation to Certain companies within the Group use derivative financial amounts receivable from Safair Operations, its 25% associate instruments to hedge exposure to exchange rates. In Group company. companies where derivative financial instruments are not used to hedge exposure to foreign currency, the policy The Group performs credit evaluations on an ongoing basis for followed is to manage levels of inflows and outflows in each individual counterparties. currency to reduce the overall exposure to movements in currency translation rates. The Group carefully considers all significant new customers before extending credit and implements reduced credit terms Further disclosures in relation to these principal risks and such as weekly payments wherever possible. uncertainties are given in Note 26 to the financial statements. Cash is only deposited with financial institutions which have a strong credit rating. Directors and secretary and their interests On 10 May 2017, Mr. A. Saverys and Mr. L. Saverys were Liquidity risk appointed as directors of the Company. On the same date Liquidity risk is the risk that the Group may not meet its Mr. B. Timmermans resigned as a director of the Company. obligations as they fall due. The Group ensures, as far as possible, that it always has sufficient liquidity to meet its The directors and secretary who held office at 31 December obligations when due under normal and stressed conditions, 2017 had no interests in the shares of the Company or group companies. 03 | ASL Aviation Holdings Financial Report 2017 Directors’ compliance statement Auditor The directors, in accordance with Section 225(2) of In accordance with Section 383(2) of the Companies Act 2014, the Companies Act 2014, acknowledge that they are the auditor, KPMG, Chartered Accountants, will continue in responsible for securing the Company’s compliance with office. certain obligations specified in that section arising from the Companies Act 2014 and tax laws (“relevant obligations”). On behalf of the Board The directors confirm that: H. Flynn L. Criel 2 May 2018 Director Director • a compliance