FY 2020-2021 Sales

Financial year 2020/2021, which ended on September 30, 2021, was marked by long periods of closure due to the health crisis, and by a dynamic recovery in activity for Leisure Parks over the summer season. 

Confirmation of a robust recovery in Leisure Park activity in the 4^th quarter
 Annual sales impacted by site closures related to the health crisis
  
 
Paris, October 21, 2021 – Financial year 2020/2021, which ended on September 30, 2021, was marked by long periods of closure due to the health crisis, and by a dynamic recovery in activity for Leisure Parks over the summer season. Accordingly, the year can be divided into three distinct periods:

• The 1^st half, during which all Leisure Park and Ski Area sites were unable to open except for a few days in October and were still closed at the end of the period;
• The 3^rd quarter, during which sites were gradually reopened, in staggered fashion, between the beginning of May and the beginning of June, but under restrictive health conditions;
• Then the 4^th quarter, during which activity was particularly dynamic. For Leisure Parks, sales for the 4^th quarter rose substantially compared with last year and, adjusted for the impact of the closure of two sites in Belgium (following severe flooding), even showed growth compared with the 4^th quarter of 2018/2019 (+5.6% adjusted for the aforementioned closures).

 
4^th quarter: Group consolidated sales from July 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021
 
Consolidated sales for Compagnie des Alpes for the 4^th quarter of FY2020/2021 totaled €171.8 million, versus €132.2 million for 4^th quarter 2019/2020, an increase of 30% thanks to the very good performance of Leisure Parks during this period.


 
FY2020/2021 – Group consolidated sales from October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021
 
The Group’s consolidated sales for financial year 2020/2021 came to €240.6 million versus €615.6 million for financial year 2019/2020 which, as a reminder, was not impacted by the health crisis until mid-March of 2020.

 
 
Ski Areas: return to growth in the 4^th quarter
 
Ski Area sales for the 4^th quarter of financial year 2020/2021 totaled €5.3 million, growing on a comparable scope basis by +13% compared with the same period of the previous financial year, which itself showed growth versus the 4^th quarter of financial year 2018/2019 (the last reference year prior to the health crisis). This good performance reflects the growing appetite for the mountains in general, and summer activities such as Mountain Kart and the Tyrolienne met with notable success.
 
For the year as a whole, Ski Area sales came to €11.4 million, versus €360.2 million for the previous financial year. It includes the proceeds from a real estate sale for €2.6 million that occurred in the course of the 3^rd quarter. The number of Skier Days was 0.3 million (compared with more than 11 million for the previous financial year).
 
 
Leisure Parks: excluding the 2 Belgian sites closed due to recent flooding, activity improved compared with the 4^th quarter of 2018/2019
 
After the partial recovery of the 3^rd quarter, activity for the 4^th quarter was particularly dynamic. Leisure Park sales reached €161.2 million in the 4^th quarter, an increase of +35.6% versus the same period the previous year, despite the impact of the closure of both Walibi Belgium and Aqualibi due to flooding as of July 15, 2021 (+47% excluding the impact of the closure of the two Belgian sites[1]).
 
Sales for the 4^th quarter of 2020/2021 thus rivaled those for the 4^th quarter of 2018/2019 (where sales reached a quarterly record of €170.2 million and were the last reference year prior to the health crisis), and even grew by 5.6% adjusted for the impact of the closure of the two Belgian sites due to flooding.
 
This good performance is primarily attributable to a substantial increase in visitor attendance for all sites compared with last year (+27.6% or +43.8% adjusted for the impact of the closure of the two sites in Belgium), although the level reached in the 4^th quarter of 2018/2019 was not reached (-18.7% or -6.5% adjusted for the impact of the closure of the two sites in Belgium).
 
This performance is also due to robust spend per visitor (+6.1% versus the 4^th quarter of 2019/2020). For example, the three hotels in Parc Astérix recorded an occupancy rate of 99% in August 2021.
 
Although the offering was once again adapted to the health crisis, visitor satisfaction ratings improved in certain key areas such as the quality/price ratio and staff hospitality.
 
For example, in operation until the park was flooded, the new mega-coaster at Walibi Belgium, Kondaa, the highest and most rapid in all of Benelux, won a European Star Award in 2021 and a Parksmania Award, and got a satisfaction score of 9.5/10. The two major attractions inaugurated last year but only really open to the public this year, Objectif Mars at Futuroscope and Wakala at Bellewaerde, maintained their high satisfaction score of 9.2/10.
 
For financial year 2020/2021 as a whole, Leisure Park sales totaled €221.7 million, a level that is fairly close to that of the previous year (€232.1 million, -4.5%), while the number of days in operation decreased by 6% compared with last year and despite the closure of Walibi Belgium and Aqualibi starting in mid-July.
 
This performance is attributable to dynamic spend per visitor (+5.7% for the year) and a decline in attendance that was limited to -10.2% (4.8 million visitors versus 5.4 million in 2019/2020).
 
 
Closure of Grévin Montréal
 
On September 16, 2021, the Group announced its decision to cease operation of its Grévin Montréal site, which suffered from a decline in attendance during the health crisis that further jeopardized its prospects of attaining economic equilibrium.
 
 
Holdings & Support
 
Holdings & Support sales for financial year 2020/2021 came to €7.4 million, versus €23.4 million for financial year 2019/2020. The decrease primarily reflects the impact of the health crisis on Travelfactory business.
 
 
Liquidity position
 
In light of the various measures taken throughout the financial year to reinforce its liquidity position, including the successful capital increase with preferential subscription rights for €231 million that was completed in June, and the good performance recorded in the 4^th quarter, the Group has the latitude it needs to pursue the implementation of its growth and attractivity strategy designed to restore its sales and profitability to the levels they had attained before the crisis.
 
 
Outlook
 
For Ski Areas, public authorities have indicated that, subject to how the health crisis evolves, ski stations are de facto under common law jurisdiction (vaccine passport for long distance travel, commercial accommodations, restaurants, etc.); ski lift operators could thus open normally, according to the schedule set out. This was the case for the Tignes glacier, which reopened last weekend with the protocol in force (masks mandated for ski lifts).
 
Compagnie des Alpes, since the start of the pandemic, has maintained a significant investment effort and has continued to play a leading role in initiatives designed to benefit its sites and the Alpes ecosystem. This was the principle guiding of the announcement last September that the rail service between London Saint-Pancras and Moûtiers/Bourg-Saint-Maurice would resume (Travelski Express), operated by Travelski (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Group).
 
 
For Leisure Parks, the Halloween season activities will be held at all Group sites. The initial indicators (presales, reservations), as well as the sales trends observed over the first two weeks of operation for sites that have already opened, are in line with the dynamic observed during the 4^th quarter.