Trading Statement for the three months to 30 June 2021 (1230278)

Global Ports Holding PLC (GPH) Trading Statement for the three months to 30 June 2021 01-Sep-2021 / 07:00 GMT/BST Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR), transmitted by EQS Group. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Global Ports Holding Plc

Trading Statement for the three months to 30 June 2021

Global Ports Holding Plc ("GPH" or "Group"), the world's largest independent cruise port operator, today issues a trading update for the period from 1 April to 30 June 2021, which is the first quarter in its new 2022 reporting period to end 31 March 2022. GPH has recently announced its audited financial statements for the 15-month period ended 31 March 2021 which can be accessed on GPH's Investor Relations website.

                                     3 months ended 3 months ended 
Key Financials & KPI Highlights1     30 June 2021 
                                                    30 June 2020 
                                                    Restated8 
Total Revenue (USDm)                   17.2           24.8 
Adjusted Revenue (USDm)2               4.8            2.9 
Ex-IFRIC 12 Cruise Revenue (USDm) 3    2.5            0.9 
Commercial Revenue (USDm)              2.3            2.0 
Segmental EBITDA (USDm) 4              (0.8)          (1.0) 
Cruise EBITDA (USDm) 5                 (1.7)          (1.8) 
Commercial EBITDA (USDm)               1.0            0.7 
Adjusted EBITDA (USDm) 6               (2.0)          (2.5) 
 
                                     30 June 2021   31 March 2021 
Gross Debt (IFRS)                    535.3          548.9 
Gross Debt ex IFRS 16 Finance Lease  467.6          483.0 
Net Debt ex IFRS 16 Finance Lease    336.7          312.4 
Cash and Cash Equivalents            130.9          170.6 
 
                                     3 months ended 3 months ended 
KPIs                                 30 June 2021 
                                                    30 June 2020 
Passengers (m PAX) 7                 0.06           0.00 
General & Bulk Cargo ('000 tons)     24.6           9.0 
Container Throughput ('000 TEU)      13.4           15.9 

Notes 1. All USD refers to United States Dollar unless otherwise stated 2. Adjusted Revenue is calculated as total revenue excluding IFRIC-12 revenue for Nassau Cruise Port 3. Sum of revenues of consolidated and managed portfolio excluding IFRIC-12 revenue for Nassau Cruise Port 4. Segmental EBITDA is calculated as income/(loss) before tax after adding back: interest; depreciation;amortisation; unallocated expenses; and specific adjusting items 5. EBITDA allocated to the Cruise segment is the sum of EBITDA of consolidated cruise ports and pro-rata NetProfit of equity accounted associates La Goulette, Lisbon, Singapore, Venice and Pelican Peak, and the contributionfrom management agreements 6. Adjusted EBITDA calculated as Segmental EBITDA less unallocated (holding company) expenses 7. Passenger numbers refer to consolidated and managed portfolio consolidation perimeter, hence it excludesequity accounted associate ports La Goulette, Lisbon Singapore and Venice. 8. Comparative information has been re-presented due to a discontinued operation.

Key Financials and KPIs

-- Cruise passenger volumes for the 3M period were very low, reflecting the continued impact of Covid-19related travel restrictions. However, cruise volumes have picked up throughout Q1 2022 reflecting the positiveimpact of the continued easing of travel restrictions and the increase in the number of cruise ships that havereturned to sailing.

-- Total container volumes (TEUs) fell by 15.6%, and General & Bulk volumes grew 173.6% in certain lowmargin cargo items

-- Total consolidated revenues were USD17.2m for the 3M period; excluding the impact of IFRIC-12 Constructionrevenues at Nassau Cruise Port, Adjusted Revenues were USD4.8m

-- Segmental EBITDA for the three months to end June 2021 was a loss of USD0.8m -- Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of USD2.0m

-- Total cruise revenue of USD15m for the three months to end June 2021. Excluding the impact of IFRIC-12Construction revenues at Nassau Cruise Port, Cruise revenue was USD2.5m

-- Passenger volumes were 58k

-- Cruise EBITDA was a loss of USD1.7m

-- Total commercial revenues rose by 14% to USD2.3m for the period vs USD2.0m for the three months to end June2020

-- Commercial EBITDA was USD1.0m

Other developments

During the quarter GPH entered into a five-year, senior secured loan agreement for up to USD261.3m with the leading global investment firm Sixth Street. The loan agreement provides for two term loan facilities, an initial five-year term facility of USD186.3m and an additional five-year growth facility of up to USD75.0m, which will be used to provide flexible growth capital for GPH to pursue expansion opportunities at a dynamic juncture in the global cruise industry.

After the period end (July 2021), the net proceeds of the initial facility, together with existing cash resources, were used to repay early the full outstanding amount of the 8.125% senior unsecured Eurobond, due November 2021, issued by GPH's wholly owned subsidiary Global Liman Isletmeleri A.S.

GPH was awarded a 20-year concession for Taranto Cruise Port, Italy. During the quarter, the concession agreement was signed and operations started.

Balance Sheet

At 30 June 2021 IFRS gross debt was USD535.3m (Ex IFRS-16 Finance Leases Gross Debt: USD467.6m), compared to gross debt at 31 March 2021 of USD548.9m (Ex IFRS-16 Finance Leases Gross Debt: USD483.0m). Net debt Ex IFRS-16 finance leases was USD336.7m compared to USD312.4m as at 31 March 2021. At the end of June 2021, GPH had cash and cash equivalents of USD130.9m, compared to USD170.6m at 31 March 2020.

Outlook

In May 2021, the CDC updated its policy on cruising, laying the foundations for a return to cruising from US ports before the end of June 2021. This was a watershed moment for the important North American and Caribbean cruise markets. With cruise lines requiring a 90-day lead time to get ships crewed and ready, the pick-up in cruises from mainland US ports is expected to occur in August and September.

This pick-up in activity can be seen in the planned itineraries of the major cruise lines. According to Cruise Industry News, in May 2021 there was just 48 cruise ships with a combined capacity of just 51,070 passengers in service. In August 2021, this is expected to accelerate to 190 cruise ships with a combined passenger capacity of 276,336, marginally below 50% of the global fleet and a 150% increase from June.

Perhaps more importantly, demand for cruising remains strong, with the major cruise lines continuing to report strong levels of demand. From a GPH perspective, we continue to see new reservations coming across most of our network and we are encouraged by the current cruise line reservation trends for 2022.

Taranto is already expected to have a record year and the pipeline of potential new cruise port opportunities is very encouraging. The effective creation of a pure-play cruise port operator and the signing a five-year loan agreement with growth funding, means we look to the future with renewed optimism and excitement.

Global Ports Holding will hold a capital markets presentation in Q4 2021 in which it will present on the outlook for the business, including financial expectations for the reporting period to end March 2023.

CONTACT 
For investor, analyst and financial media enquiries:   For trade media enquiries: 
Investor Relations                                     Global Ports Holding 
Martin Brown                                           Ceylan Erzi 
Telephone: [phone]                        Telephone: [phone] 
Email: [e-mail]                  Email: [e-mail] 

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ISIN:          GB00BD2ZT390 
Category Code: TST 
TIDM:          GPH 
LEI Code:      213800BMNG6351VR5X06 
Sequence No.:  121171 
EQS News ID:   1230278 
 
End of Announcement  EQS News Service 
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September 01, 2021 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)