Strengthening of market share in a challenging market

Transcription

1 Cimber Sterling Group A/S, Lufthavnsvej 2, 6400 Sønderborg, Denmark INTERIM ANNOUNCEMENT 1 NOVEMBER 2009 TO 31 JANUARY 2010 Announcement No. 31/ March 2010 Strengthening of market share in a challenging market Developments in the market for air transport to and from Denmark in Q3 were less positive than expected. A competitive situation of previously unseen proportions and related pressure on fares had an adverse impact on profitability in Cimber Sterling. Revenue for the nine months to 31 January increased by 23% to DKK 1,173 million, while operating profit (EBIT) dropped to a loss of DKK 176 million (a profit of DKK 39 million in 2008/09). However, a significant increase in market share shows that Cimber Sterling did well in the competition and thus has a strong market position going forward. EBIT for FY 2009/10 is expected to be a loss in the range of DKK million before IPO costs, and EBIT for FY 2010/11 is expected to be in the range of DKK +/- 30 million. Summary Consolidated revenue for the nine months ended January increased by 23% year on year to DKK 1,173 million from DKK 951 million. The rate of increase in Q3 2009/10 was 16% from DKK 290 million in 2008/09 to DKK 336 million in 2009/10. The company recorded an operating loss before rental and leasing expenses, depreciation, amortisation and impairment, financial expenses and tax (EBITDAR) of DKK 7 million including IPO costs for the nine months ended 31 January 2010, down from a profit of DKK 145 million in the same period of 2008/09. EBITDAR in Q3 2009/10 was a loss of DKK 56 million including IPO costs, compared with a profit of DKK 59 million in 2008/09. EBIT for the nine months ended 31 January 2010 was a loss of DKK 176 million including IPO costs, down from a profit of DKK 39 million in 2008/09. For Q3, EBIT was DKK 110 million including IPO costs, down from a profit of DKK 24 million in Q3 2008/09. Passenger numbers increased by 26% in Q3 2009/10. Revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) dropped by 47%, and the unit cost per available seat kilometre (CASK) dropped by 24% year on year. The yield for Q3 2009/10 was DKK 0.96 compared to DKK 1.83 in Q3 2008/09. Cimber Sterling increased its market share of the Danish domestic market from 40% in Q3 2008/09 to 43% in Q3 2009/10. Similarly, Cimber Sterling increased its market share at Copenhagen Airport (in terms of number of passengers) from 4.1% in Q3 2008/09 to 6.8% in Q3 2009/10. As previously announced, revenue for FY 2009/10 is expected to be in the range of DKK 1,545-1,605 million, and EBIT is expected to be a loss in the range of DKK million before IPO costs. For FY 2010/11, the forecast of EBIT is retained at the range of DKK +/- 30 million. Events after the period end The combined effect of the Odin and Thor programmes has been upgraded to an expected EBIT effect in FY 2010/11 of DKK 120 million. This includes a change in the service concept for domestic and international flights and the introduction of a new price policy for baggage as well as for seat selection with an expected EBIT effect in FY 2010/11 of DKK million. Moreover, declarations of intent have been signed regarding reductions of total staff costs by 10% over the coming year with an expected EBIT effect in FY 2010/11 of an additional DKK 35 million. The Executive Board has been strengthened with the appointment of Lars Bording, Commercial Director. The previous head of operations, Steen Neuchs Vedel, also joins the Executive Board. Former CEO Jørgen Nielsen will remain in charge of business development and will continue to be a part of the Board of Directors, but he will no longer be a member of the Executive Board. For further information, please contact: Jacob Krogsgaard, CEO Henriette Schütze, CFO Tel: Tel: jacob.krogsgaard@cimber.dk henriette.schutze@cimber.dk (1 November January 2010) Page 1 of 10

2 To our shareholders Extraordinary tough competition, falling demand and, thus, significant pressure on our yield was the main reason that Cimber Sterling Group A/S had to reduce its forecast for 2009/10 results. Not even a strong year-on-year growth in passenger numbers could compensate for this. There is no doubt that it has been highly unsatisfactory that we have had to reduce our forecasts twice in such a short time after the IPO, thus welcoming new shareholders with a decreasing share price. We are every day working to make our company more efficient and even more professional in order to strengthen our growth platform. We are cutting costs, we are improving aircraft utilisation and we are continuously evaluating the organisational structure.. We are concurrently constantly trying to improve our internal as well as external communications in order to create greater transparency and thus provide a better picture to the general public of who Cimber Sterling is and why we will continue to have a market leading position in Danish aviation going forward. We are humble in our approach, but we also have strong confidence in our business and a dedicated and deeply committed group of employees behind us. A staff which every day serve thousands of passengers on our flights. And a staff who do what they can to ensure that everybody gets a good experience when flying Cimber Sterling. Cimber Sterling s strategy is based on three growth drivers: being the market leader on the Danish domestic market; being a focused airline operating to European cities; and being the preferred airline in Denmark for leisure travellers. Our challenge is to utilise our fleet which is composed of large and small aircraft to achieve profitable growth, and this will not just be achieved through cost savings, but also by increasing our revenue, such as by the recently introduced supplementary baggage fees. Thus, Cimber Sterling s strategy is maintained, but we are constantly sharpening our strategic focus and are prepared and willing to accept the consequences. We recently published our traffic figures for January/February. The reason why we waited before releasing them was that we wanted to have comparative figures for a full year in order for the figures to make sense. We have that now and the figures speak for themselves: we are growing quite well, taking market shares, and will therefore be well positioned when the market recovers. High-frequency domestic flights and the opportunity to fly Danes from all parts of the country directly to destinations abroad makes Cimber Sterling s business unique. And although the winter has been hard on the aviation industry, I am convinced that we have what it takes to cover a significant part of the transportation needs of people in Denmark, and what it takes to reverse the trend for the company and generate a positive performance for us as employees and for you our shareholders. Jacob Krogsgaard CEO/President (1 November January 2010) Page 2 of 10

3 Market development Developments in the market for air transport to and from Denmark were less positive than originally forecast, which in combination with a previously unseen competitive situation in the market and resulting in very strong pressure on fares affected the profitability of Cimber Sterling s operations within its three segments: Domestic, Regional and Leisure. As a consequence, Cimber Sterling does not plan to further expand its fleet in Cimber Sterling increased its market share of the Danish domestic market from 40% in Q3 2008/09 to 43% in Q3 2009/10. Cimber Sterling increased its market share of passengers travelling out of Copenhagen Airport from 4.1% in Q3 2008/09 to 6.8% in Q3 2009/10. The increasing market share shows that Cimber Sterling did well in the competition and thus has a strong market position going forward. Passengers (000') and market share (%) for Danish domestic Q3 07/08 Q3 08/09 Q3 09/10 44% 43% 42% 41% 40% 39% 38% 37% 36% Cimber Other Market share Sales and revenue promoting initiatives In the airline industry in general, the increased pressure on fares has led to a greater focus on add-ons such as differentiated baggage fees, in-flight sales, seat-selection fees, booking fees, etc. Cimber Sterling monitors these developments and is continuously adapting its product to consumer preferences. In that connection, Cimber Sterling has changed its service concept for both domestic and international flights and introduced fees for checking baggage and seat selection from the beginning of February Q3 2009/10 (November-January) was a period with more business travellers and fewer individual leisure travellers, which produced a minor shift between the individual sales channels in Q3 2009/10 as compared with Q3 2008/09. Agent sales dropped by 2 percentage points (from 42% to 40%) to be replaced by direct sales as well as sales through other airlines. Sales channels Cimber Sterling is continuously working to optimise and expand the number of distribution channels. In Q3 Cimber Sterling set up a Swedish website, to optimise direct sales from all of southern Sweden. Call center 3% Other airlines 26% Cimber.dk 31% Agents 40% With respect to other online sales, i.e. through online travel agencies, Cimber Sterling has entered into a partnership agreement with the world s leading online travel agency Expedia, Opodo (travellink.dk) and the leading online travel agency in the Nordic region etraveli (supersaver.dk, seat24.dk, travelstart.dk and flybillet.dk). On the agent side, in addition to online agents, Cimber Sterling optimised its distribution in Q3 2009/10 by expanding its collaboration with travel agencies FDM Travel, Carlson Wagonlit, VIA Travel and Rejsepartnerne (Vejle Rejser and Toprejser). (1 November January 2010) Page 3 of 10

4 Traffic performance Q3 9 mths 12 mths (1 November - 31 January) (1 May - 31 January) 2009/ /09 Change 2009/ /09 Change 2008/09 Traffic figures Number of passengers % % ASK (000') % % RPK (000') % % Load Factor (RPK/ASK) (%) 58% 58% 0 p.p. 66% 63% 3 p.p. 62% Profitability RASK (DKK) 0,56 1,06-47% 0,59 0,83-29% 0,89 CASK (DKK) 0,75 1,00-24% 0,68 1,02-33% 0,94 Yield (DKK) 0,96 1,83-48% 0,89 1,31-32% 1,43 Average sector length (km) % % 414 Operations Departuers < 15 minutes 82% 83% -1 p.p. 88% 84% 4 p.p. 85% Regularity 98% 98% 0 p.p. 99% 98% 1 p.p. 98% Traffic performance The total number of passengers in Q3 (November 09 January 10) was 495,633, representing a year-on-year increase of 26% and an increase of 65% for own passengers. During the period, capacity (ASK) rose by 125%, whilst traffic (RPK) grew by 126%. In relation to Cimber Sterling s own network, capacity (ASK) increased by 213%, whilst traffic (RPK) increased by 233%. Overall, the load factor was 58%, whilst the load factor for own routes increased from 53% to 56%. Development in revenue and costs per seat kilometre Revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) in Q3 2009/10 was DKK 0.56, representing a 47% year-on-year decline. This performance is attributable to two main factors: a significant change in the product offering and intensified competition in a highly price sensitive market. The significant change in the product offering between the two comparative periods, which accounts for 75% of the decline in RASK, is a consequence of a sharp increase in the proportion of leisure traffic carrying mainly leisure passengers on longer flights using larger aircraft. Average RASK is substantially lower on those routes than on Cimber Sterling s traditional business routes operated by smaller aircraft with several daily frequencies and shorter distances. The RASK for Leisure rose by 96%, but it should be noted that the comparative period in Q3 2008/09 was only 17 days. Moreover, RASK dropped by 23% for Domestic and by 32% for Regional. The average distance flown increased by 41% from 369 km in Q3 2008/09 to 521 km in Q3 2009/10. In Q3 2009/10, the cost per available seat kilometre (CASK) dropped by 24% to DKK This was due to a change in the product offering in the two comparative periods as a result of the sharp increase in leisure traffic which has a substantially lower CASK than the other segments due to the longer distances flown and the larger aircraft used. Excluding fuel costs, CASK improved by 25% year on year to DKK 0.67 from DKK The decrease in yield from DKK 1.83 in Q3 2008/09 to DKK 0.96 in Q3 2009/10 was due to a shift in segments towards increased leisure production, the extraordinarily tough competition and falling demand. The segment distribution accounts for 75% of the yield decline. Operations In Q3, 98% of all planned flights were operated, 82% of them on- time as compared to 83% in the same period of last year. This minor decline in regularity was due to the severe winter weather and Cimber Sterling s high flight frequency. (1 November January 2010) Page 4 of 10

5 Traffic performance by segment Q3 9 mths (1 November - 31 January) (1 May - 31 January) 12 mths 2009/ /09 Change 2009/ /09 Change 2008/09 Passengers Domestic % % Regional % % Leisure % % ACMI/Charter % % Total % % ASK (000') Domestic % % Regional % % Leisure % % ACMI/Charter % % Total % % RPK (000') Domestic % % Regional % % Leisure % % ACMI/Charter % % Total % % Load Factor Domestic 58% 54% 4 p.p. 59% 59% 0 p.p. 57% Regional 46% 53% -7 p.p. 51% 57% -6 p.p. 55% Leisure 60% 39% 21 p.p. 71% 70% 1 p.p. 63% ACMI/Charter 68% 65% 3 p.p. 70% 70% 0 p.p. 70% Total 58% 58% 0 p.p. 66% 63% 3 p.p. 62% In the Domestic segment, passenger numbers rose by 25%. Capacity (ASK) increased by 19%, whilst traffic (RPK) increased by 28%, resulting in an improvement of the load factor from 54% to 58%. The main driver of this improvement was the positive developments of the Copenhagen-Aalborg and Copenhagen-Aarhus services. However, average passenger revenue dropped by approximately 28% year on year in Q3 2009/10 due to the extremely competitive Danish domestic market and weak demand from business travel. In the Regional segment, passenger numbers rose by 27%. Capacity (ASK) increased by 35%, whilst traffic (RPK) increased by 17%, resulting in a reduction in the load factor from 53% to 46%. The reduction in load factor was partly due to intensified competition and partly due to lower demand for business travel during the period and the deployment of Boeing 737 capacity on the services out of Billund to Oslo, London and Paris. Average passenger revenue dropped by 29% during the period, but with very large differences among the individual routes under the segment. In the Leisure business, activities were merely started up on 14 January 2009 with the Copenhagen-London Gatwick service, so the comparative basis for the same period last year is very limited. The number of passengers doubled several times over and the load factor rose from 39% to 60%. Towards the end of the period, capacity was reduced on a number of routes to match the current market situation. As at 31 January 2010, Cimber Sterling operated 37 routes for all passenger segments compared with 16 routes as at 31 January As revenue for the ACMI/Charter segment is not driven by passenger numbers but rather by the number of aircraft and number of flights respectively, developments in passenger numbers, capacity and traffic has no impact on revenue. Production capacity At the end of January 2009, two Boeing 737 aircraft had been put into production, whilst the corresponding number was five at the end of January 2010, plus one Boeing 737 being made ready for production. At the end of January 2010, Cimber Sterling s fleet also consisted of 13 regional jets, CRJ200s, down from 15 CRJ200s at the end of January The number of turboprop ATRs was unchanged at nine aircraft as compared to the same period last year. As of 31 January 2010, Cimber Sterling s fleet thus consisted of 28 aircraft, up from 26 as at 31 January (1 November January 2010) Page 5 of 10

6 Profit development (unaudited) Q3 (1 November - 31 January) 9 mths. (1 May - 31 January) 12 mths DKK million 2009/ /09 Change 2009/ /09 Change 2008/09 Revenue 336,1 290,2 16% 1.173,3 951,1 23% 1.297,8 EBITDAR -55,8 58,9 - -6,9 145,3-150,4 EBITDAR margin -17% 20% - -1% 15% - 12% EBIT -109,5 24, ,4 38,7 - -1,7 EBIT margin -33% 8% - -15% 4% - -0,13% EBT -125,2 15, ,1-35, ,1 Profit/(loss) for the period -95,2 12, ,8-26, ,9 Revenue Consolidated revenue for the nine months ended 31 January 2010 increased by 23% to DKK 1,173.3 from DKK million. Q3 2009/10 revenue increased by 16% to DKK million from DKK million in Q3 2008/09. The revenue growth was primarily attributable to Cimber Sterling s expansion of activities, i.e. of its route network and fleet starting in January 2009, when Cimber Sterling began operating Boeing B737s, and a resulting increase in the number of passengers carried. EBITDAR The company recorded an operating loss before rental and leasing expenses, depreciation, amortisation and impairment, financial expenses and tax (EBITDAR) of DKK 7 million including IPO costs for the nine months ended 31 January 2010, down from a profit of DKK 145 million in the same period of 2008/09. EBITDAR in Q3 2009/10 was a loss of DKK 56 million compared to a profit of DKK 59 million in Q3 2008/09. The EBITDAR performance primarily reflects Cimber Sterling s expansion in the Leisure segment, intensified competition in a highly price sensitive market and severe winter weather with many flight cancellations, which resulted in increased costs of de-icing, salaries, aircraft maintenance and accommodation for passengers. Operating profit/(loss) (EBIT) EBIT for the nine months ended 31 January 2010 was a loss of DKK million including IPO costs. This represented a decline of DKK million as compared to the same period of 2008/09 when EBIT was a profit of DKK 38.7 million. EBIT for Q3 2009/10 was a loss of DKK million as compared to a profit of DKK 24.4 million in Q3 2008/09. As a result of the expansion of Cimber Sterling s fleet, leasing costs and depreciation rose by DKK 19 million year on year in Q3 2009/10. Earnings before tax (EBT) EBT for the nine months ended 31 January 2010 was a loss of DKK million as compared to a loss of DKK 35.2 million last year. Net financing costs for the nine-month period totalled DKK 1.7 million, down from DKK 73.9 million in the same period of 2008/09, when this line item was affected by large unrealised USD exchange losses. In the first nine months of 2009/10, the exchange rate effect was the opposite with unrealised USD exchange gains. EBT for Q3 2009/10 was a loss of DKK million, representing a DKK million decline relative to Q3 2008/09. Net financing costs for Q3 2009/10 totalled DKK 15.7 million, which was DKK 7.0 million more than in the same quarter of last year, primarily because of unrealised USD exchange losses in Q3 2009/10. Profit/(loss) for the period A loss of DKK million was posted for the nine months ended 31 January 2010 as compared to a loss of DKK 26.4 million last year. The loss for Q3 2009/10 was DKK 95.2 million as compared with a profit of DKK 12.0 million in Q3 2008/09. (1 November January 2010) Page 6 of 10

7 Balance sheet Total assets amounted to DKK 1,083 million as at 31 January 2010, equal to a year-on-year increase of DKK 46 million. The increase primarily reflected an increase in cash, which was partially offset by a lower carrying amount of aircraft and aircraft parts. In Q3 2009/10, Cimber Sterling s capital base was strengthened in connection with the company s listing on NASDAQ OMX on 1 December The net proceeds from the IPO amounted to DKK 250 million. The proceeds have been applied to strengthen the company s equity and reduce net interest-bearing debt. In addition, the company has reduced its trade credits. Equity stood at DKK 280 million as at 31 January 2010, which was DKK 71 million more than at 31 January The equity ratio was 26% as at 31 January The company s cash resources totalled approximately DKK 100 million as at 31 January Events after the end of period On 9 February 2010, Cimber Sterling announced (cf. announcement no. 25) that in-flight serving of food and beverages would be eliminated and that a new price policy would be introduced for baggage. In future, a fee of DKK 50 will be charged for checked baggage if passengers want to travel with more than carry-on baggage. The change in price policy and the service concept for the Domestic service is expected to add DKK million to EBIT in FY 2010/11. On 24 February, Cimber Sterling announced (cf. announcement no. 27) an increase in its forecast of the effects on EBIT of the Odin and Thor programmes from DKK 100 million to DKK 120 million. On 24 February 2010, Cimber Sterling announced (cf. announcement no. 28) that the management and union representatives had agreed on a recommendation to the staff that the cost reduction by 10% of total staff costs would be implemented over the coming year. The cost reduction is expected to involve a cost saving of DKK 35 million affecting EBIT for FY 2010/11. On 24 February 2010, Cimber Sterling announced (cf. announcement no. 29) that the company s Executive Board would be strengthened effective 15 March 2010 with the appointment of Lars Bording as Commercial Director, and Steen Neuchs Vedel who had previously held the chief responsibility for operations would also join the Executive Board. Jørgen Nielsen will remain in charge of business development but he resigned from the Executive Board effective the same date. As at 15 March, the Executive Board has four members, namely Jacob Saaby Krogsgaard, CEO; Henriette Schütze, CFO; Lars Bording, CCO and Steen Neuchs Vedel, COO. Cimber Sterling has opened five new routes since 31 January The Odin and Thor programmes The implementation of the announced project programmes: Odin (initiatives to promote sales) and Thor (initiatives to reduce costs) was intensified in January and February 2010 to the effect that they are now expected to increase EBIT by DKK 120 million in FY 2010/11, up from the previous forecast of DKK 100 million. This impact has been included in the EBIT forecast for FY 2010/11 in the range of DKK +/- 30 million. The impact on EBIT in FY 2009/10 will be negligible and has already been included in the forecasts. The impact of Odin and Thor in FY 2010/11 is divided between DKK 40 million from sales promoting initiatives, DKK 50 million from cost reducing initiatives, and DKK 30 million from profitability improvements. In addition to the initiatives announced in February 2010, the programmes include a further 20 sub-projects which will be described in the annual reporting on 6 July (1 November January 2010) Page 7 of 10

8 Forecasts and sensitivity The following section provides information on Cimber Sterling s plans, forecasts and future activities. These activities are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the Group s performance may deviate significantly from the forecasts made. Outlook for FY 2009/10 Cimber Sterling forecasts revenue for FY 2009/10 in the range of DKK 1,545-1,605 million, down from the previous forecast of DKK 1,675-1,725 million. EBIT is forecast to be a loss in the range of DKK million (before IPO costs) as compared to the previous forecast of a loss in the region of DKK 60 million. The forecast for Q4 is based on the assumption that the adverse market conditions prevailing in Q3 will continue in Q4. Revenue per quarter (millions) EBIT per quarter (millions) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4E Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4E For Q4 2009/10, Cimber Sterling forecasts revenue to be in the range of DKK million, which is on par with Q1 and Q2 and higher than for Q3 2009/10. The fourth quarter includes both the winter and Easter holidays which traditionally involve good load factors for the Leisure segment but a major reduction in both the Domestic and Regional segments. Moreover, at the end of March the traffic programme will change to the summer programme, which deviates substantially from the winter programme with respect to activity level and route mix. Similarly, Cimber Sterling expects an operating loss for Q4 in the range of DKK million, which is on par with the Q2 2009/10 performance and a major improvement as compared to Q3 2009/10. The improvement as compared to Q3 2009/10 is primarily expected to be driven by larger passenger numbers. Sensitivity EBIT for Q4 2009/10 will be affected by a number of important factors whose sensitivity to changes is outlined below. An increase in the load factor by five percentage points would have a nominal effect on EBIT of DKK 13 million, and a corresponding decline would reduce EBIT by a corresponding amount. Description DKKm +/- 5%-point change in load factor +/- 13 +/- 5% change in average passenger revenue +/- 14 +/- 5% change fuel cost +/- 3 +/- 5% change in DKK/USD exchange rate +/ (1 November January 2010) Page 8 of 10

9 Outlook for FY 2010/11 The outlook is based on the following significant factors: As a consequence of the intensified competitive situation, it has been decided to optimise capacity utilisation and reduce the activity level to 23 aircraft units in own production, down from a previously expected level of 28 aircraft units. It is expected that two regional CRJ200 jets will be returned to the owner in late April; Boeing 737 nos. 7 and 8 will not be leased, and one turboprop ATR72, which is currently leased out, is expected to remain on lease instead of being deployed in own production in late The substantial optimisation of Cimber Sterling s traffic programme for the summer of 2010 is expected to result in an increase in the number of seats offered as well as the ASK by more than 20% as compared with the summer of As a further initiative designed to enhance Cimber Sterling s competitive strength, Management intensified the implementation of the Odin and Thor project programmes in January and February. The programmes are designed to increase revenue ( Odin ) and reduce costs ( Thor ) and are expected to have an EBIT effect of DKK 120 million in FY 2010/11 as compared to a previously expected DKK 100 million. Number of booked and flown passengers per week There has been great interest in Cimber Sterling s summer programme since it was released at the turn of the year, and the forecasts are based on the assumption the demand for W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10 tickets in the summer programme will continue and that we Winter 09/10 Summer 10/11 Flown have reached the bottom of the dramatic price falls. As it appears from the chart, more tickets are being booked for future flights than the number of passengers carried in the year-earlier period, which strengthens our confidence that we will be able to achieve the expected load factors on the flights to be operated during the summer period. This together with better capacity utilisation and targeted reduction of all costs makes us retain our forecast of EBIT for FY 2010/11 to be in the order of +/- DKK 30 million. Investor presentation An investor presentation will be held on 17 March 2010 at the Hotel Skt. Petri at 3.00 pm for the company s shareholders and other stakeholders. The address is First Hotel Skt. Petri, Krystalgade 22, DK-1172 Copenhagen K. The presentation will also be webcast live and will subsequently be available on the corporate website You can register for the investor presentation on the corporate website under Investor Financial calendar Month (2010) Traffic figures Financial reporting April 9 April 11:00 am May 7 May 11:00 am June 7 June 11:00 am July 6 July 11:00 am 6 July 08:00 am Annual report August 6 August 11:00 am 19 August 16:00 am Annual General Meeting September 7 September 11:00 am 15 September 08:00 am Interim report October 7 October 11:00 am November 5 November 11:00 am December 7 December 11:00 am 14 December am Interim report (1 November January 2010) Page 9 of 10

10 Definitions ACMI/Charter ASK CASK Average passenger revenue RASK RPK Load factor Yield EBIT EBITDAR EBT Aircraft Crew Maintenance Insurance. Flights operated for other customers using aircraft on full charters or on wet leases. Available Seat Kilometres. Number of available seats multiplied by the distance covered, measured in kilometres. Cost per Available Seat Kilometres. Revenue minus EBITDA relative to ASK. Total passenger revenue relative to number of passengers in own production. Revenue per Available Seat Kilometres. Total revenue from passenger carriage, charters and ACMI relative to ASK. Revenue Passenger Kilometres. Number of revenue passengers multiplied by the distance covered, measured in kilometres. Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) to Available Seat Kilometres (ASK). Total revenue from passenger carriage, charters and ACMI relative to RPK. Operating profit before financial expenses and tax. Operating profit before rental and leasing expenses, depreciation, amortisation and impairment, financial expenses and tax. Profit before tax. This interim announcement has been prepared in Danish and translated into English. In the event of any discrepancy between the Danish-language version and the English-language translation, the Danish-language version of the interim announcement shall prevail. Cimber Sterling is a Danish-based airline with more than 850 employees, offices at five Danish airports and a fleet of 28 large and small aircraft. Cimber Sterling operates more than 1,000 flights per week and carries some 2.2 million leisure and business passengers per year. In addition to serving domestic and holiday destinations and a number of selected European destinations, Cimber Sterling is engaged in aircraft maintenance, the development and sale of software for logistics relating to aircraft maintenance, and leasing of aircraft on wet and dry leases. For more information, go to cimber.dk. (1 November January 2010) Page 10 of 10