Transat Results Reflect The “Magnitude” Of COVID-19

Transat A.T. Inc., has released its results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2020.

The company’s president and chief executive officer, Jean-Marc Eustache came right to the point: “Our results reflect COVID-19’s devastating impact across the travel industry. During the year, we took all necessary actions to limit the damage and preserve our cash.”

Eustache continued: “The upcoming completion of the transaction with Air Canada should give us the solidity to face the crisis and capitalize on the recovery that should be sparked by the arrival of a vaccine.”

Transat’s boss noted that: “We have put in place a $250.0 million short-term financing facility and are currently working on replacing it, should the transaction not take place, with an overall financing covering our needs for the year 2021. This financing could also be obtained as part of a support program for the industry, as announced by the government.”

In announcing its result, Transat noted that the global air transportation and tourism industry has faced a collapse in traffic and demand. Travel restrictions, uncertainty about when borders will reopen, both in Canada and at certain destinations the Corporation flies to, the imposition of quarantine measures both in Canada and other countries, as well as concerns related to the pandemic and its economic impacts are creating significant demand uncertainty, at least for fiscal 2021.

And it indicated that in response to the first wave of the pandemic, the Corporation temporarily suspended its airline operations from April 1 to July 22, 2020. Subsequently, the corporation implemented reduced summer and winter programs and is continuously making adjustments based on the level of demand and decisions made by health and state authorities. The Corporation cannot predict all the impacts of COVID-19 on its operations and results, or precisely when the situation will improve.

And it said that it has implemented a series of operational, commercial and financial measures, including cost reduction, aimed at preserving its cash. The Corporation is monitoring the situation daily to adjust these measures as it evolves. However, until the corporation is able to resume operations at a sufficient level, the COVID-19 pandemic will have significant negative impacts on its revenues, cash flows from operations and operating results. While the likelihood of the availability of a vaccine in the near future makes it possible to hope for the resumption of operations at a certain level during 2021, the corporation does not expect such level to reach the pre-pandemic level before 2023.

For more, go to https://www.transat.com/en-CA/corporate/investors?ici=TRZ-footerlink&icn=TRZ-investors .