The health crisis weighs heavily on the accounts of SNCF - France 24

Paris (AFP)

SNCF, "hit hard by the health crisis linked to Covid-19", published on Thursday a heavy net loss of 2.4 billion euros in the first half.

The public group had generated a modest net profit of 20 million euros in the first half of 2019.

Half-year turnover fell 21% to 14.1 billion euros, penalized by the effects of the health crisis (-3.9 billion) and the strike against the pension reform in January (-275 million ).

While Geodis (logistics) resisted with a very slight increase in turnover of 0.3%, the other components of the public group saw their income decline: -37% for SNCF Voyageurs (TGV, TER and Parisian suburbs), -12% for Keolis (public transport), -20% for freight and -20% for SNCF Réseau.

The strike, the health crisis and the confinement have reduced attendance by 50% in the TER compared to the first half of 2019, and by 55% in the TGVs from which SNCF usually derives its profits. Only February saw a positive trend.

The "operating margin" - an indicator prized by SNCF, close to gross operating profit - was divided by 21 in one year, to 136 million euros.

To limit the damage, management launched an “exceptional and proactive action plan” to generate savings of 1.8 billion euros over the year (including 1.1 billion in the first half).

This plan includes measures to reduce costs - "without affecting the production workforce" - as well as the postponement or abandonment of certain projects.

SNCF was nevertheless obliged to "burn cash to the tune of 2.8 billion" euros over the half-year. Hence a heavier debt, which increased from 3 billion euros to 38.3 billion on June 30. The State had just taken back 25 billion as of January 1.

"And we are not out of the crisis," said CFO Laurent Trévisani. We must always "manage uncertainty", which makes any prognosis risky for the months to come, he told AFP.

The Minister for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari recently announced that the SNCF would be helped "to the tune of several billion euros" by the State, but the modalities of this support are not yet known.

© 2020 AFP