For Longjiang Airlines, the smallest private airline in China, at least 300 million yuan is enough.
Under the COVID-19 epidemic, the civil aviation industry suffered the worst impact since World War II. Worldwide, a large number of airlines have grounded their planes, and many airlines in the United States and Europe have gone bankrupt; China is no exception. Some private airlines with small scale and weak financial strength are under greater pressure, facing the disaster of merger and reorganization, and even being auctioned.
Recently, an auction announcement of China Bidi Bidding Network shows that Longjiang Airlines, which owns five planes, will auction at a starting price of 320 million yuan, and the first auction will end on September 30th. Longjiang Airlines, headquartered in Heilongjiang, successfully made its maiden voyage on 20 17 with a registered capital of 800 million yuan.
"I didn't expect my old club to search hot in this way," sighed a former employee of Longjiang Airlines (ID: carcaijing). The employee revealed that last year, the leader said that Longjiang Airlines had completed financing with a financial company and an insurance company. "There will be no more financial difficulties, please rest assured." However, in 2020, the epidemic suddenly broke out, and Longjiang Airlines, which had been poorly managed for a long time, finally closed down.
Although the auction information was a little sudden, some insiders told travelers (ID: Carcaijing) that Longjiang Airlines was founded on 20 17, relying on the scale and traffic volume of three Airbus aircraft, "it is a miracle that it can persist until this year, and the impact of the epidemic is only the last straw to overwhelm the camel. The scale is not large, and the two second-hand aircraft purchased one after another need maintenance costs. For a long time, the lack of quality routes and airline brands is almost' nothing to want'. "
Not only small airlines, Air China (60111/. SH/00753。 HK) and China Eastern Airlines (600 1 15. SH/00670。 Hongkong/new york Stock Exchange code: CEA). The semi-annual report released a few days ago showed that the total loss of the three major airlines exceeded 26 billion yuan, twice the profit of last year.
With the support of the government, domestic airlines actively help themselves and launch services such as "flying at will", and still have the capital to take off again; However, small and medium-sized airlines with poor long-term operation and only one breath left are difficult to recover in the spring of civil aviation.
In 2020, the problems of heavy assets, high debt, high cost and low income in the civil aviation industry are exposed to the "black swan" in the industry.
According to statistics, more than 20 airlines around the world have closed down this year, and the International Air Transport Association predicts that it may take five years for global aviation demand to return to the pre-epidemic level. The epidemic stopped flying, the passenger capacity dropped suddenly, and the income dropped sharply. The three major airlines with abundant funds are still dormant waiting for a turnaround, while the small and medium-sized airlines with small operating scale and huge cash flow pressure are struggling.
Recently, the Intermediate People's Court of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province announced the 98% equity value project (first auction) of Longjiang Airlines Co., Ltd., which means that this private airline has been liquidated and changed hands, and it is still unknown whether it can take off again.
The customer service staff of Longjiang Airlines told the traveler (ID: carcaijing) that he didn't know about the company's entry into the auction, but it had no effect on ticket purchase and normal flight departure at present. Traveler (ID: carcaijing) also noticed that Longjiang Airlines also opened two new routes this month, Harbin-Xiamen and Harbin-Nanjing.
Longjiang Airlines is the first passenger and cargo airline headquartered in Heilongjiang Province. Established by Harbin Yu Xiang Gold Products Sales Co., Ltd. with a capital contribution of 800 million yuan, accounting for 65,438+000% of the registered capital. It has three A320 aircraft and two A3265 and 438+0 aircraft.
It is worth noting that among the five planes of Longjiang Airlines, two used A320 were just introduced in June and July this year-and the fleet size of China Southern Airlines, the largest airline in China and even Asia, has exceeded 800.
The court auction announcement shows that Longjiang Airlines currently has total assets of 65.438+0.23 billion yuan, total liabilities of 820 million yuan and asset-liability ratio of about 66.7%. The evaluation price announced by the court is 4 1 10,000 yuan, the starting price is 330 million yuan, and the deposit is 66 million yuan, with a price increase of 500,000 yuan.
The above-mentioned insiders told the traveler (ID: Carcaijing) that the two shareholders of Longjiang Airlines, as outsiders, were a drop in the bucket in the face of huge demand. Perhaps ending the auction and reducing losses is the best ending at present-after all, the plane is rented second-hand, the high-quality route does not exist, the operating system is in jeopardy, and only the "selling point" of the airline license is left, and how much can be recovered.
The funding problem of Longjiang Airlines has shown signs since last year. In 20 19, due to a lease dispute with China Aircraft Leasing Group Holding Co., Ltd., Longjiang Airlines was sentenced to return its equity investment of 5120,000 yuan and pay interest of 4.65 million yuan. Zhang Yuming, a legal person of Longjiang Airlines Co., Ltd., was listed as the executor for three times for failing to fulfill the relevant payment obligations.
"It is rare for airlines to be auctioned." The insider told the traveler (ID: carcaijing) that after the civil aviation industry changed from military to civilian in 1980s, from the acquisition point of view, almost all state-owned airlines merged with private airlines, and private airlines became state-owned, but public transport aviation auctions were rare. "
Before Longjiang Airlines, Ruili Airlines, headquartered in Yunnan, signed an equity transfer framework agreement with Wuxi Transportation Group in Jiangsu Province in early August, and Jingcheng Group, the major shareholder of Ruili Airlines, wanted to sell its controlling stake. On August 3 1, a source close to Ruili Airlines told the traveler (ID: Carcaijing) that various acquisitions are currently in progress.
Ruili Airlines, similar to Longjiang Airlines, is also a private airline, with fewer planes and financial disputes before.
Ruili Airlines set sail in May 20 14 and is the first local private airline in Yunnan. By the end of August, 2020, * * * operated 20 aircraft with 75 routes, and the route network covered 47 navigation cities at home and abroad. Among the six base airlines in Yunnan market, Ruili Airlines ranks fifth in market share. In 20 19, Ruili Airlines was also repeatedly brought to court for huge debt disputes.
Yu Zhanfu, a global partner of roland berger Management Consulting Company, told Traveler.com (ID: Carcaijing) that small civil aviation companies have low pressure resistance and it is difficult to get support in the face of extreme industry shocks. Because of their small scale, there is still more room for improvement in the professionalism of their operations, it is difficult to obtain direct financial subsidies from the central and local governments, and it is also difficult to obtain bank loans. In short, small civil aviation companies may be the first to fall.
Many insiders told Traveler (ID: carcaijing) that local governments and state-owned capital are most likely to take over civil aviation enterprises. If the auction is successful, Longjiang Airlines will take off again from a city with aviation dreams.
Behind the Longjiang aviation auction, it reflects the current situation that the civil aviation industry is in deep trouble. Not only small airlines, but also the three major airlines are struggling.
In the first half of this year, the losses were 94.4/kloc-0.00 billion yuan, 8.542 billion yuan and 8 1.79 billion yuan respectively. This is the semi-annual report card recently handed over by Air China China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. The profits that were positive last year are all negative this year, and the total loss exceeds 26 billion yuan. According to the statistics of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the loss of the whole industry reached 74.07 billion yuan in the first half of the year.
This huge loss is far more than before. In 2008, due to the global economic downturn, the three major airlines suffered huge losses. The annual non-net losses of Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines were 267,654.38 billion yuan, 8,278 million yuan and 5,728 million yuan respectively, but the astronomical figures at that time were only about half of the losses in the first half of the year.
From the perspective of revenue, the reduction of transportation investment, passenger load factor and revenue level are the main reasons for the decrease of airline revenue.
Take Air China as an example. In the first half of 2020, the available seat kilometers decreased by 53.74% compared with the same period of last year, and the transportation capacity investment decreased significantly. A clever woman can't cook without rice, and the decline in income is inevitable.
At the same time, the passenger load factor of Air China dropped from 80.99% in 2019+1June to 67.45% in 65,438+1June this year, and the average passenger kilometer income also dropped from 0.52 14 yuan to 0.5/KLOC. The average passenger kilometer income is the income brought by airlines flying one kilometer for a passenger, which reflects the average fare level and profitability.
The decline in transport capacity and passenger load rate caused by the epidemic is a visible fact, but the decline in average passenger income per kilometer is a more noteworthy phenomenon, reflecting the loss of airline profitability. Li Hanming, the founder of aviation consulting company Li He Li, explained to the traveler (ID: carcaijing) that because there are not many people flying, airlines usually give discounts, and now the average ticket price is 6.5%.
According to Li Hanming's statistics, the average annual income per kilometer of the three major airlines in 20 19 is 0.68 -0.73 yuan; In the first six months of 2020, it fell to 0.52 -0.58 yuan; The recovery period after the epidemic from March to June in 2020 is even lower, and the average income per kilometer of the three major airlines is between 0.44 yuan and 0.5 yuan.
From the cost point of view, the exchange loss caused by RMB depreciation has also affected the performance of aviation enterprises. The three major airlines all said that due to the depreciation of the exchange rate of 1.5% in the first half of the year, the exchange losses of Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines in the first half of the year were all around 1 100 million yuan, affecting the net profit of about 400 million yuan.
Overall, the losses of airlines in the second quarter were less than those in the first quarter. Statistics from the Civil Aviation Administration of China show that in the second quarter of this year, the total loss of civil aviation was 34.25 billion yuan, a decrease of 3.85 billion yuan compared with the first quarter. Prior to this, the industry lost 24.6 billion yuan in February, setting a record for the biggest loss in a single month.
The loss reduction trend of China Southern Airlines is more obvious: the losses in the first quarter and the second quarter were 5.3 billion yuan and 2.9 billion yuan respectively, and the losses in the second quarter were greatly reduced by 2.4 billion yuan. In this regard, Li Hanming said to a brigade (ID: carcaijing) that this is because China Southern Airlines has the strongest internal network and the weakest international line among the three major domestic airlines. "Now the epidemic has caused international flights to be paralyzed, China Southern Airlines has a burden, and China Eastern Airlines has one less profit point."
Although the "Flying with Your Heart on Weekends" campaign initiated by China Eastern Airlines has set off a marketing upsurge in the whole industry, which has aroused widespread concern outside the civil aviation industry, this activity, which started on June 18, has not helped China Eastern Airlines to make the semi-annual report look better. On a quarterly basis, the revenue of China Eastern Airlines in the first quarter and the second quarter was 65.438+055 billion yuan and 9.7 billion yuan respectively, down 49% and 66% year-on-year, and the losses were 3.9 billion yuan and 4.6 billion yuan respectively, but the losses in the second quarter actually increased.
According to a traveler (ID: carcaijing), China Eastern Airlines has sold more than 65438+ 10,000 sets of "Weekend Flying". According to the unit price of 3,322 yuan per set, this product can bring more than 300 million yuan in cash income-compared with the quarterly revenue of/kloc-0.00 billion yuan, this product's contribution to the financial report is relatively limited.
Li Hanming also added that China Eastern Airlines has more international flights, and the sharp reduction of classes under the epidemic situation has led to a decrease in income. At the same time, the competition in Shanghai market is fierce. Both private aviation and high-speed rail compete with China Eastern Airlines for the market. Due to the superposition of two factors, the performance of China Eastern Airlines in the second quarter was slightly weak.
There is still a bright color in the pessimistic semi-annual report, that is, freight revenue. China Southern's cargo and mail revenue in the first half of the year was 7.667 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 73.89%. China Southern Airlines said that it was mainly due to the epidemic that there was a strong demand for freight, especially for international freight. Freight revenue has also contributed billions of dollars to Air China and Eastern Airlines.
After a difficult first half of the year, the civil aviation industry is gradually recovering. A passenger (ID: carcaijing) learned from China Eastern Airlines that by the end of August, the domestic daily flight volume of China Eastern Airlines had exceeded 2,400, which had recovered to more than 95% of the pre-epidemic level.
Brokerage Huachuang Transportation said that it is optimistic about the future of the three major airlines. According to the research report, the P/B ratios of the three companies are at a relatively low level in history, and the current industry is gradually being repaired. It is even predicted that "the aircraft production capacity of the industry will show a net exit trend, and if the demand rebounds more than expected in the future, it may show the industry flexibility driven by the mismatch between supply and demand."
Looking forward to the second half of the year, with China's aviation market taking the lead in bottoming out in the world, the recovery and development trend is generally good, and aviation enterprises believe that the domestic aviation market will take the lead in recovery and push aviation enterprises to continue to reduce losses. (Editor/Yang Peiqian)