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3 NEWS 6.1.2022 AIR Malta is consolidating its flight schedule for the months of January and February by reducing frequencies on certain routes without however cancelling any of the 16 routes the air- line is operating to this winter. This curtailing, necessitated due to the dramatic downturn in demand over recent weeks, is presently very common in the industry especially in the current scenario during which airlines had to deal with multiple and unprecedented travel disruptions. So far, unlike some other airlines op- erating on the Malta route, Air Mal- ta is not planning to cancel any of its planned scheduled routes for this winter or for summer 2022. Commenting on this plan, Air Mal- ta's Executive Chairman, David G Curmi, said the company was taking such decisions to match customer demand and avoid flying near empty aircraft. "Such assessments are ongoing and will continue until demand returns to healthy levels. In these situations, we need to be very agile and financially disciplined to be able to adjust seat capacity and focus on efficiency to protect our liquidity and cash perfor- mance," he said. "Given the unprece- dented times we are living in and the challenges that Air Malta is facing, we are continuously optimising our net- work for profitability and liquidity, and we plan to continue to do so with- out compromises." "In this ever-changing scenario, it is very difficult to make any predictions, however Air Malta is committed to remain an all-year-round vital link to mainland Europe not only for travel and tourism but also for the transfer of urgent medical cargo, mail and other import and export freight required for our various industries," Curmi said. Roy Kinnear, Air Malta's Chief Com- mercial Officer said that following the surge of the Omicron variant and the introduction of lockdowns or par- tial lockdowns and travel restrictions across much of Europe, Air Malta saw a slowdown in new bookings and re- ceived a number of cancellations for travel over the holiday period and in January and February. The cancellations came across most of Air Malta's markets with varying degree. These fluctuating trends have been typical last year with markets opening and closing depending on threat levels. The combination of the current slowdown in bookings and with Janu- ary and February being naturally low- er demand months, has unfortunately driven an increased level of frequency consolidation compared to previously anticipated, but commercially neces- sary to do so. "Most airlines vary their allocated capacity throughout the year as Mal- ta's tourism inflows are highly sea- sonal, with the peak season in the summer months from July to Septem- ber and the low season in the winter months from November to February," Kinnear said. "While other airlines operate at a sig- nificantly lower capacity in the winter months, Air Malta ensures connectiv- ity with the major European cities and key airports all year round." Air Malta reduces frequency on selected routes due to low demand FROM PAGE 1 Other income amounted to €0.37 million (2020: €0.48 million), large- ly comprising of COVID-19 related grants. Operating costs increased by 12.9% to €35.8 million reflecting higher in- ternational postal tariffs payable to postal operators at destination, air freight costs, and salaries. As a result, MaltaPost registered an operating profit of €2.48 million, 12.7% lower than the previous year's comparable figure. During the financial year under re- view, MaltaPost also reported a €0.22 million loss (2020: loss of €0.15 mil- lion) from its life insurance associate IVALIFE Insurance Limited, in which MaltaPost has a 25% stake. Meanwhile, net interest receivables remained at similar levels to last year at €0.09 million. Overall, MaltaPost reported a pre- tax profit of €2.35 million. After accounting for a tax charge of €0.95 million, MaltaPost's net profit for FY2020/21 amounted to €1.4 mil- lion, which is 20.7% lower than the €1.76 million figure reported in the previous financial year. The net profit for FY2020/21 trans- lates into an earnings per share of €0.0372 (FY2019/20: €0.0468) and an annualised return on equity of 5.0% (FY2019/20: 6.5%). According to MaltaPost's Statement of Financial Position, its total assets increased by €5.6 million (+12.1%) to €52.2 million largely due to the in- creases to property, plant and equip- ment as the Group continued to invest in its branch network. Similarly, total liabilities increased by €4 million (+20.8%) to €23.4 mil- lion mainly due to higher trade and other payables. Overall, shareholder funds expanded by 4.4% to €28.4 million which trans- lates into a net asset value per share of €0.754 (30 September 2020: €0.721). Dividend The Directors have recommended an unchanged final net dividend of €0.04 per share to all shareholders as at close of trading on Thursday 13 January 2022. The dividend will be paid on 16 March subject to shareholders' ap- proval at the upcoming Annual Gen- eral Meeting scheduled to be held on 16 February. Outlook MaltaPost CEO Joseph Gafa' said that the outlook for the coming year is set to remain challenging and difficult to forecast following the onset of yet another COVID-19 variant. He said the pandemic accelerated the postal trends of the past years, as parcel volumes continue to increase while Letter Mail maintains its down- ward trend. Gafa' said that although the compa- ny remains committed to its Univer- sal Service Obligation ("USO"), Mal- taPost shall continue to request that the Malta Communications Author- ity (MCA) revise the pricing of the loss-making service that it provides under the USO. Meanwhile, MaltaPost continues to manage other non-postal lines of business to further supplement its core activity with distinct revenue streams, including logistics, docu- ment management, insurance and fi- nancial services. Principal activities The MaltaPost Group comprises MaltaPost p.l.c. (the Company) and its subsidiary companies, Tanseana Limited (Tanseana), Ciantar Brothers Limited, Postalnsure Agency Limited (Postalnsure), and its associate com- pany IVALIFE Limited. MaltaPost p.l.c. was registered in 1998 and listed on the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) in 2008. The Compa- ny is a public limited liability company under the provisions of the Compa- nies Act (Cap. 386). As the designated Universal Service Provider, MaltaPost provides a series of universal postal services in terms of the Postal Services Act (Chapter 254 of the Laws of Malta) and in line with the terms of the Universal Postal Union on behalf of the Government of Malta. e company operates a network of six postal hubs, 42 post offices and 26 sub- post offices around Malta and Gozo . Tanseana, a company wholly owned by MaltaPost, was registered and commenced operations in 2016. The company was established to provide document management services and to carry on such services which in- clude, but are not restricted to, scan- ning, printing, shredding, storage and retrieval of digital and/ or physical documents. Ciantar Brothers Limited, a compa- ny wholly owned by MaltaPost, pro- vides warehousing services. Postalnsure, a company 49% owned by MaltaPost p.l.c. was granted enrol- ment in the agents list to act as an in- surance agent under Article 13 of the Insurance Intermediaries Act (CAP 487). IVALIFE Insurance Limited, for- merly IVALIFE Limited, a company 25% owned by MaltaPost p.l.c. was li- censed on 1 February 2021 to provide Class I and Class Ill long term busi- ness of insurance. MaltaPost sees 20.7% drop in net profit

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