That all participants will be in listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. You can register for questions at any time by pressing star and one on your telephone. Webcast viewers may submit their questions or comments in writing via the relevant field. For operator assistance, please press star and zero. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it's my pleasure to hand over to Mr. Xavier Rossinyol, CEO of Avolta. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you very much. Good afternoon, good morning, everybody. Thank you for being here today in this trading update of Avolta for the quarter one results. Before we go into the details of what has happened in the last quarter, let me give you a little bit of frame of what Avolta is about. We will go to page two of the presentation. Avolta today is not only the leading company in the space of travel experience, travel retail, and travel F&B, but we also have the largest and widest network in the industry, being present in 73 countries with more than 1,000 locations and more than 5,000 points of sale. But not only the size of the network is relevant, but it's also that we are present on the three key segments of the travel experience: F&B, Duty-Free, and Duty- Paid.
So we have the opportunity to combine these three segments in delivering a higher and better experience for the travelers, and we are already doing that. We are cross-selling through these segments. We are giving promotions. When you have a coffee, you can buy something extra in the Duty-Free, and vice versa. We are already using the capacity of delivering hybrid concepts, and we have a few examples today, but we have more than 20 hybrid concept lounge, where we combine F&B and retail. But also, the three segments and the size of our network gives us a complete and parallel access to travelers' information and travelers' data, geographically, but also on the three segments. We can understand the travelers better than anybody else, and we use this data to continuously improve our offering.
But it's not only our capacity to grow faster than others, it's also the size of our network that decreases the risk of external factors affecting this growth. The size of our network allows us to cope with external shocks in a much softer manner than anybody else. But it's not only growth and resilient growth, it's also we do it with a very strict financial discipline. That's why on top of growing top line, we can expand margins and equity-free cash flow, and we can commit at the same time on investing in the business, de-leveraging, and paying a yearly dividend. And all this, and now I'm moving to page five, is thanks to a very clear strategy that we presented in September 2022, and that we have been implementing step by step, without exception.
Since the presentation of the new strategy, I think this is the sixth or seventh quarter where we publish results in line or ahead of expectations. This new consumer centricity focus on the combination of the different offerings, but also the use of data, the use of entertainment, the use of smarter stores, is allowing us to grow sales faster than the growth of passengers. We also have a very clear geographical strategy, growing on our core businesses in the Americas, North and South, and in Europe, but growing faster in Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific today represents 5%, but not long from now, it will probably double our share to 10% of our total revenues. And we do all that with a very clear focus on operational performance. We will deliver on the synergies fully of the merger this year, a year ahead of what was initially disclosed.
We keep the cost discipline on everything we do. We keep our focus and our commitment to our people and our ESG. But everything we do in our strategy has a consequence in our P&L and in our cash flow, as you can see: revenues, margins, cash flow, and deleveraging. Now, moving to the specifics of the quarter. Quarter one, after a very successful 2023, confirms all the key points we mentioned in the last few quarters. An organic growth of 8.6%, year-to-date, April, 7%. For me, this is a more relevant number because includes Easter, both in 2024 and 2023. It's at the top of the range of our outlook. Expansion of margins, EBITDA margin of, by 40 basis points. Again, on the top range of our outlook.
Equity free cash flow, negative, because it's always negative on the first quarter of the year, because we prepare for quarter two and quarter three. But the best first quarter equity free cash flow since we report that measure. Good financial performance, but also a strong execution, step by step on everything we set on hybrids, on smarter stores, on entertainment, on data, on digital engagement. And that also pays off on the relationship with our landlords. In number of extensions and in number of new locations we win, and you have a few examples here in all the regions. Yves will explain that, but all these improvements are also reflected, reflected in the re-ratings, two re-ratings. The two rating agencies re-rating us significantly this year, and also another very successful refinancing, both on size and cost.
So the balance sheet continues to strengthen, and the deleveraging continues as expected or better than expected. Moving now to some clear figures. We reported close to CHF 2.8 billion revenues on the first quarter, 18% growth, 8.6% organic, and as I said, for the first four months, 7% year-on-year. Clear expansion of the EBITDA margin, reaching 6.1%, a very high number for the first quarter. We all know the first quarter is the lowest quarter in profitability for Avolta. And as I said, equity free cash flow, negative, but only CHF 80 million, which is already much better than last year and already much better than any other year since we report equity free cash flow. If we move to the next page, this good performance, it's across the board.
We had an organic growth of 12% in EMEA, continuous, also very strong in April. 7% in North America, also continuous, very strong in North America in April. Latin America, organic growth of 5%, but if you do like-for-like, because there are some changes of scope, is 13%, one three. And Asia Pacific, 5.5% organic, but again, like-for-like, if you take the change of scope, because we actively close some of the loss-making activities in Asia Pacific, the like-for-like growth is of 21%. So very healthy growth in all four regions. Once more, confirming the high diversification of the group. On the first quarter, you can see that geographically, but also the segments is very diversified.
As I said, APAC is 5%, but we are having such a pipeline of opportunities that we think this will be significantly higher in the next couple of years. Channels, we remain an airport operator. We have most of our sales, 82% in airports, but we continue supporting the strategic segments of Motorways and other channels. Category mix, very interesting. 33% is F&B. Afterwards, you have perfumes and cosmetics and food and confectionery. Some of the traditional categories have slipped down in the portfolio. If we move to the next page. It's only a couple of slides. It could be many more, but we continue on this commitment to the consumer and the traveler revolution. And we do it in a concept we call FLEX, which is flexible, loyalty, entertainment, and the X factor.
This is what we do on our physical stores, restaurants, and shops, and that's what we do also on the digital engagement with the consumers during their trip, before and after the trip. Flexible, because today, our new shops and our new restaurants are able to adapt the offering of what the passengers desire in a question of weeks, instead of a question of months. So we can change the shops to the new trends, to the new brands, to the new merchandising very, very fast. Loyalty. Today, we are focusing on upgrading the existing loyalty programs, and we are at full speed to launch the new loyalty program later in the year. That is gonna be the first loyalty program that allows to benefit in F&B and retail in 73 countries.
It's not only loyalty, we're also getting digital engagement on less frequent flyers with Reserve & Collect, with many other digital advantages that you can get in our stores, even if you are not a member of our loyalty program... Entertainment at full speed. And I have a nice video in a few seconds, where you will see some of the things we do. And the reason why Entertainment is so powerful is because it changes the mindset of the traveler. That if instead of rushing into the gate, slow down, because you have something that is good for the children or good for yourself, or it's a gaming component, you slow down on the speed, you enter our store, and increases the chances of a higher conversion. And again, like the hybrids, like the smart stores, like the digital engagement, it's not theory.
It's happening today, and it's proving useful to increase customer satisfaction and increase spend per passenger. And the X factor, that is a combination of all those things that are a little bit more radical because they break the traditional boundaries of our industry. Combining F&B and retail, using retail to enhance F&B, vice versa, the hybrid store, the pre-loved, the store technology, the digital engagement, et cetera, et cetera. I have a couple of pictures in the next slide. I could show many more. One of the pictures shows a Hudson Café, so it's an F&B concept, combined with Toblerone. It's the first Toblerone café worldwide, and it's a way to use the strength we have on the relationship with a very strong, successful, and powerful brand, traditionally in retail, and our knowledge on F&B. Creating something unique, creating an experience that passengers have not lived before.
And then you have another actual picture. They're real things. It's a pre-loved. This is a shop we opened in the Zurich Airport. It's products that had an earlier life, and now they put a second life in our store. And that attracts a new demographic of passengers, people who want to buy something that it has been pre-loved before. That's only two examples, very small examples, but that shows that we continue developing changes in our offering. When I say so, it will show a video. It's a very short video. I think it's a very funny, and interesting video. It's actual recording in one of our stores. It's in Buenos Aires. I could have chosen many more, but it's just to give you a feeling on how entertainment can also enhance your shopping experience. Could we put the video, please? So this is a video...
Your faces, but I'm sure quite a few of you smiled when you saw the video because you felt comfortable. And that's what entertainment can do also for the travelers that go through our stores. Because of all what I said, the strength of our platform, our clear strategy, and an actual deployment of all the key steps of that strategy is why we confirm once more our clear outlook. 5%-7% growth, organic growth per year on turnover, at the top of the range for 2024. 20-40 basis points expansion on the EBITDA margin, again, on the top of the range for 2024. Equity free cash flow conversion, expansion of 100-150 basis points per year, and again, on the top of the range for 2024. And we confirm our capital allocation policy.
Focus on deleveraging, 1.5x-2x net debt to EBITDA as a target. For the last few quarters, we have shown a clear commitment to that. Using the equity free cash flow we have every year, one-third for dividend, and yesterday, the General Assembly approved already the dividend for 2023 financial statements, CHF 0.70 per share, and two-thirds for growth and deleveraging. We have said that for the time being, we don't see the need of another transformational acquisition, and our focus will be to grow organically and to do some bolt-on acquisitions, small ones, clear synergies, when we believe there is value on that. De-leverage, dividends, and strategic growth. I'll come back for the conclusion in a few minutes. Now, I hand over to our Global CFO, Yves Gerster.
Thank you very much, Xavier, and good morning and good afternoon to everybody on the line. Xavier has already commented on the top line, so let me go to the productivity, profitability and the equity free cash flow, starting with the EBITDA first. In Q1 2024, we have generated CHF 168 million of EBITDA, representing 6.1% over turnover. That's an improvement compared to the previous year of 40 basis points, on the top end of the indicated improvement of 20-40 basis points on EBITDA margin in the medium term. If we are looking at the bottom side of the screen, you will see the cash flow. The equity flow came in at CHF -80 million. As you know, we have a seasonal business, and Q1 is typically negative because you purchase ahead of the high season in summer.
CHF -80 million represents the best equity free cash flow for a first quarter since we report equity free cash flow in 2017, and that's valid for standalone Heritage Dufry and also Pro Forma combined business. If I move on to the next slide, with net debt and the leverage. Net debt increased slightly to CHF 2.9 billion. That does not come as a surprise, because what we have just seen on the equity free cash flow, equity free cash flow typically is negative in the first quarter. And also on top of that, we had a translation impact from the Swiss franc devaluation in the first quarter. This amounted to around CHF 100 million, and as a consequence, net debt has slightly increased.
On the other hand, leverage further decreased, and that's a very strong movement for the first quarter, from 2.6 - 2.5, so very much in line to the target of 1.5x-2x. Moving on to the next slide, with the net debt maturity profile of the group. The maturity profile is, again, very balanced, and what we see here is that we have just done the refinancing earlier in April. We have refinanced the EUR 800 million euro bond with a new EUR 500 million bond, with a 4.75% coupon, now maturing in 2031, so long-term refinancing. On top of that, we have EUR 300 million remaining, which we'll keep until maturity in October this year, with the intention to repay it with cash on the balance sheet.
Moving on to the next slide, which is the last slide of my presentation. We have received two rating improvements by Moody's and S&P Global Ratings earlier this year. This is a consequence of further improvements we have received over the last 12 months, 2 by Moody's and 3 by S&P Global Ratings. Moody's went from Ba3 to Ba2, stable outlook, S&P Global Ratings from B B flat to BB+ . This is a consequence of the good performance of last year, our capital allocation, which we have communicated earlier, about six months ago, and also the resilience of the operations. Let me be very clear and summarize, because I believe it's extremely important. To get 2-notch improvements by Moody's within 12 months is something which does not happen very often.
To get an improvement by S&P Global Ratings of three notches within 12 months is also not something which happens very often. To get a straight upgrade by S&P Global Ratings without previous positive outlook or credit watch positive, is also something which does not happen very often. It's a testament of the resilience of the combined organization, the strong operational performance, the very stable and solid balance sheet with the balanced debt maturity profile, and in combination with our asset allocation and capital allocation policy and the target leverage. Having said that, I hand over back to Xavier.
Thank you very much, Yves. Good job, I have to say. Look, the conclusion is very clear. We have a clear strategy. We are delivering on that strategy on every aspect, and the quarter one is, again, a proof that we can growth, expand margins, equity-free cash flow. The start of the April shows the same trend, and we continue expecting this trend to continue on the rest of the year. April, that includes Easter, is a good proxy of what might happen in summer holiday season. And all the indications, also the indications of the airports where we are present, their forecast of passengers and flights, are all pointing out on a very good 2024. And that is also reflected not only on the results, but on the balance sheet that Yves has explained.
I would like to say, journey on, and we confirm not only a good expectations for 2024, but also good expectations in line with our outlook for the upcoming years. Thank you for your attention. Now, we are gonna open the floor to Q&A.
We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question or make a comment may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you have entered the queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use only handsets while asking a question. Webcast viewers may submit their question or comments in writing via the relative field. Anyone who has a question or a comment may press star and one at this time. The first question is from Eric Sheridan from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Hey, thank you. Good afternoon, both. I've got three questions, if I can. First one, just in terms of any phasing we should think about in terms of the cost synergies versus the integration costs this year, because in my mind, you know, you've just delivered 40 basis points of margin expansion in Q1, which at the high end of your full year guidance, despite some integration costs maybe being front-end loaded towards the start of the year. Obviously, correct me there if I'm wrong. Second question, I appreciate the Q1 is the least important and the smallest from a seasonality perspective, but you're at 7% year- to- date from an organic point of view, after four months. How are you thinking about the growth you've reported so far in the context of your 5%-7% organic guide for the year?
I mean, is there a realistic possibility that 7% accelerates maybe over the summer months, or you think it can hold at that year to date level? And then the third question, just any thoughts on spend per passenger growth in the quarter? And any thoughts maybe on spend per passenger growth within that 5%-7% organic guidance for the full year? Thanks a lot.
You want to take the first one on the phasing?
Sure. So look, on the phasing, you're right. I mean, the integration costs, and we had CHF 25 million last year, CHF 25 million this year, they tend to be front-loaded. So to assume that part of that or a relevant part of the CHF 25 million, which apply this year, is reflected in the first half of the year, is probably a fair statement.
On the organic growth, look, if we give an outlook, is to stick to it. So we set 5%-7% per year. We believe this year, especially with the start of the year, is gonna be more on the top range on that. We always try to do better, by definition, but I think there are still many months to go, so I will stay to what we said. And on a simplified manner, because the growth is always difficult, but you probably have to think that what we have seen is half passengers, half the spend per head. Expect something similar for the remaining of the year.
Thanks a lot.
The next question is from Manjari Dhar, from RBC. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. I just had two, if I may. The first one, I just wondered if you could give some color on what you're seeing in terms of business travel versus leisure travel trends, and whether you've seen sort of any kind of incremental step up in business travel so far this year. And then secondly, I wondered if you could give some color on sort of the economics of how the hybrid concepts or the tie-up with a brand like Toblerone would compare to a non-hybrid concept in terms of maybe sort of profitability or CapEx requirements for the fit out of a concept like that. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Look, we see good performance in business and in leisure. It depends on the geographies, et cetera, but I think we see recovery on both segments. I think I mentioned that in an earlier call. There is also kind of a new category of travel that is a hybrid between business and leisure. Some people get more breaks, especially in North America, short breaks, long weekends, thanks to the mix, working from home and the office. I think equally important, what we see is that the younger generations have more inclination to travel at their age group than what it was typically in the past.
We believe that we see a good 2024, but if you look at the mega trends, five years from now, 10 years from now, they are even more positive than the ones we are seeing. The economics of a hybrid, it's as the word says also, I mean, profitability-wise, it's similar to anything else you can have on the similar location. CapEx is a mix. It's not as high as a full F&B, and it's not as low as in the a pure retail concept. But if you remember, we have said in the past that when you take into consideration the CapEx, the profitability and the duration of the contract, the return on investment we are getting on F&B or retail is very similar. And that's the same thing on a hybrid concept. Thank you for your questions.
Great. Thank you.
The next question is from Jon Cox, from Kepler Cheuvreux. Please go ahead.
Yes, good afternoon, guys. It's Jon from Kepler here. A couple of questions for you. Just, just that first one, you were mentioning, in terms of the organic sales growth.
... Did you say half was spend per head increase and half was passengers? Just as a point of clarification. The second question, just on the U.S. market, been a lot of focus, a lot of commentary, Airbnb, you know, WH Smith, all of these guys may be saying signs of a slowdown. I certainly can't see it in the TSA data, but just wondering on your thoughts on the U.S. market, specifically. Thank you.
Look, on the spend per passenger and passengers, if I go to every region, it's a little bit different. But yes, I said that of the 7% you have year to the April, yes, half of it is passengers on our network and half of it is expenditure. In certain regions, you could have 4 and 3 or 4.5 and 2.5. In others, it could be 3.5 and 3.5, but roughly, that's what you see. No, we are not seeing any slowdown in the U.S. market. I know everybody wants to see that, but that's not the case. We see a specific places, if you have an airport with a refurbishment, of course, maybe there.
But as a major trend, we do not see any slowdown anywhere in the network and not in North America, not in the U.S.
I wonder, we just come back on the spend per head. Can you just tell us what is causing that? Is it just the pricing and inflation, or is it part of these initiatives you're talking about? Do you think it's a mix or?
It's probably we could say that.
Half of it is spend per head. Yeah.
Yeah, probably 2/3 is pricing, 1/3 is activities we do. Again, it depends. If you have a new shop with a completely new concept, the spend per head linked to volume is higher. If you have in another place low level of new initiatives, so that may be the driver, there is more pricing. But I would say, if I could achieve this, that half is passengers, half is spend per head, and of that half, 2/3 is pricing, 1/3 is new initiatives, I think that would be a formula that will work for us. Again, depending, we all know, I mean, if you have a different profile of passengers, maybe that goes much faster or slower. But I think that's a good indication of the model we are building and the consequences of our model.
You think that 3% would be a good level, you know, two points of that would be price and one point would be, you know, your activities.
Look, if inflation over the next few years goes down, we'll have less impact. But look, I don't want to give now a new specific guidance because the guidance is organic growth of 5%-7%, depending on passenger growth. What I'm reflecting in this question you asked me is what I'm seeing today. But yeah, I think that would be a very good proxy going forward. But if it's 4% passengers and 2% spend per head, I will also be happy, because I think it's also a very good number.
Okay, I'm just going to keep pushing you then. On the passengers, though, you know, 3%, I would imagine that on average, it would be closer to four or even five. Just looking at all of the, you know, TSA in the US., you can see the Spain, you can see U.K., that passenger looks a bit low. I know you've done some sort of weighted average, I guess, on the- on that figure, but-
We do a weighted average.
Talk, talk, yeah.
So look, but again, I said half and half, but if it's four and three or three and a half and three and a half, and you have your four that you just mentioned. I mean, look, it depends on the geographies. Also, it depends on the weighted average of the different areas. I mean, you have areas in the world or locations where you have more leisure, and therefore, it's more linked to passengers, so holiday periods, there are other places. So this is a weighted average. You have also, we have-
Okay, just one last one. Yeah. Sorry.
You can ask 20 ways. My answer hopefully will be the same, but it's okay, John, go ahead.
Yeah. Sorry, and, just another one. On hybrid travel, obviously, this is, something you just alluded to. Can you talk a little bit more about that? How, how much do you think overall passengers, you know, out there at airports at the moment, is hybrid travel, this so-called, you know, you're maybe just going to the weekend, to your holiday home, and you're actually working from there?
It's a good question, and I do not have an answer because it's very difficult. I mean, you should ask everybody. What we see is in certain specific airports that there's a growth of traffic on Thursdays. So when pre-COVID, the peak day was Friday, now it's Thursday. If you have traveled to New York anytime recently, you will see that there is more traffic on Thursday evening to go to the airport than on Friday. So there are indications like that, some surveys we do, but I cannot give you a figure. It's a reality. We know it's a reality. Also, on the destinations, it changes a little bit. On a typical Friday that you could have a peak between, I don't know, New York and Boston, now you have a peak in another, from New York to another location.
I don't have a number, but we know it's a reality.
And a guess, you know, 10%-20%?
... I'm not good at guessing. I'm good at data, so, but, not guessing. I don't know. Yeah, let's say 10%, but-
Yeah. All right. Thanks, Xavier. Thanks, guys.
The next question is from Jaafar Mestari from BNP Paribas Exane. Please go ahead.
Hi, everyone. I've got a couple. Okay. So firstly, really just to clarify on the outlook, I heard you say April is a good proxy. Just to be 100% clear, you mean January to April, so the 7% is a good proxy, and you think it can grow 7% on the strong comparables of last summer?
So the outlook is very clear, 5%-7% per year, and we have very good early indications that 2024 is gonna be closer to the top than to the bottom of that range. I'm not saying specifically 7%, because nobody can know by now, but it's a good indication. What happens is Easter gives you a first feeling if people is focusing on holiday making. And we saw that was a strong Easter, despite being in March. When it's in March, it's always weaker than April because the weather is a little bit less appealing. So there is a good indication. Some of the key nationalities we saw, we see a good expenditure pattern. Talking to airports and their forecast, of course, nobody is always 100% sure of what...
When you predict the future, you can always have a level of uncertainty, but the early indications year to date are on the positive side.
Great. Thank you. And then I just wanted to go back to your comments on LATAM and APAC underlying trends. I think you stated that organic growth in APAC would have been 21%, excluding some contract exits, and not the 5% reported. And in LATAM, what I heard is 13%, ex those. Did I hear correctly, and can you remind us maybe what these contracts are? There's Melbourne in Australia that has been flagged before, but obviously there's other material exits there. And then related to that, what's the timing of those exits, and is there a point in the year where they stop holding you back? Because I understand they're holding back reports of organic growth. So at some point in the year, do they annualize and does organic growth tick up?
You heard well. So the numbers you just stated are the correct numbers. Melbourne is the main one in Asia Pacific. It was a very substantial contract there. But with the developments of the, organically, of the existing portfolio and some new contracts that we are being awarded and signing over the next... or over the last few weeks or the next few months, APAC will show a strong growth this year, both organically and in total growth. I do not remember exactly when was the full exit of Melbourne.
May.
It was in May. Thank you, Yves. So as of June, let's say, you will not see this effect on the like-for-like versus the organic growth in Asia-Pacific. Look, in Asia-Pacific, the growth is very nice, but we have to recognize that Chinese consumers are still coming in very much smaller numbers than they used to be. The domestic traffic in China has fully recovered and actually is healthy ahead of 2019 levels, but international travel is still behind. If you allow me, that makes our numbers in Europe, where Asian passengers are very important, and in Asia itself, even more striking because they are based on low number of Chinese passengers, which shows the resilience of our business. Even if they are not there, we are replacing those sales with sales to other constituencies.
I mentioned in the past, Indians, and we believe in the next 5-10 years, Indians will become, maybe together with other big Asian countries, an important constituency on the travel environment in our company. We have something that is unique. We have the lowest reliance on any specific demographic or nationality of anybody in the industry. We have the highest diversification, and therefore, the lowest impact of any specific effect on any specific economic situation or any specific country. That doesn't mean we like that. Of course, we would like all the economies of the world to be benefited from all of that, but even if that doesn't happen, the effect on us is more moderate than any other of the players in the industry.
Okay, thank you. And then, I mean, just to be super clear on this, so if I take the quarterly organic growth and I don't plug in 5.5 and 5 for those two divisions, and I plug in 13 and 21 instead, you're, you know, double digits, and from May, these contracts are not holding you back anymore?
Well, two things: you have to be careful to do such numbers with quarter one. It will not be double digit if you do-
Mm.
the right number. But yes, it will be probably adding another one or two points to the organic growth that we have reported. But also the comparables were easier at the beginning of-
Sure
this year than at the end. That's
Sure, sure.
So we can opt for two questions. I mean, we can opt for two versions. To start giving all kind of ups and downs, we are simple.
Mm.
Yes, the organic growth has been stronger if you take into consideration the like-for-like, let me put it this way, has been stronger than the organic. But still, the comparables were easier. So I feel comfortable with the outlook for the year. Let's not increase it already now. Let's wait for what happens.
Okay. Fair. Thank you very much.
The next question is from Simon Lechipre from Stifel. Please go ahead.
Yes, good afternoon. three, if I may. First of all, as a follow-up on organic growth, I mean, I think the year-to-date trend, if we exclude leap year, is around 6%, which is the midpoint of your range. I mean, it seems you are confident achieving more, let's say, 7%, which is where consensus is. So I mean, just wondering where the acceleration should come from, and what gives you this confidence? Secondly, as a follow-up to one of the previous margin question, you commented on the integration cost, but could you comment on synergies, specifically in Q1? How much did it contribute to the 40 basis points improvement? And given you mentioned early execution on synergies, do you expect to reach the ninety...
The CHF 85 million run rate before the end of the year? And lastly, just a kind of housekeeping question, could you please quantify the benefit from the shift in the timing of CapEx in the equity free cash flow in Q1? Thank you.
Thank you for your questions. Look, you have to be careful on the leap year, because also Easter, when it's in March, is much lower than when it's in April. So that's why I think that really, if you take into consideration, the sales up to April, year to date, this is a good proxy, for the year, because one thing compensates the other one. I think for the other three questions, I will hand over to my esteemed colleague, Yves.
Thank you, Simon, for the questions. So look, in regard to the cost synergies and the integration cost, we cannot go through all those detailed number. I mean, what we have provided to you is the improvement of the EBITDA, is the 40 basis points. Xavier has provided the outlook for the full year, which is also at your higher end of the 20-40 basis points improvement. We said that the cost synergies... Sorry, the costs, the integration costs are front-loaded, so you need to assume a little bit more to come in, in the first half of the year, and less in the second half of the year. That also is an additional level of detail we can provide. And what we also mentioned is that all the synergies, the CHF 85 million, are fully reflected in the P&L already in 2024.
So it's not a run rate we try to achieve. We are already there since the 1st of January 2024. Then in regard to the CapEx, look, what we try to mention when we say and talk about the CHF -80 million of cash flow, of equity free cash flow in the first quarter, is that we had a little tiny bit of tailwind from CapEx. It's not a lot, it's a small number, and there will be a catch-up effect potentially in the second quarter. What we want to say with that is like: Look, it's a record quarter, it's a fantastic Q1 in regard to equity free cash flow in the history of the company. We are much better by CHF 70 million compared, sorry, by CHF 50 million compared to last year, but a little tiny bit was also the support of CapEx.
But don't interpret too much into that.
Thank you.
The next question is from Gianmarco Werro from ZKB. Please go ahead.
Good day, everyone. As many questions have already been answered, I stick to Asia for my three questions. First of all, can you give us a bit more details on your expansion plans there? Also, you mentioned you want to maybe go more into food and beverage in the midterm, that would be interesting. Second Asia question is, can you give us some more details in your collaboration also with Alibaba, the technology enhancements that you try to implement to also attract more Asian tourists within Asia? And then you mentioned during the presentation that you closed down some activities in APAC. In what kind of dimensions? So are we talking about some shops or even that you exited some contracts or even airports in Asia? Thank you.
Thank you for your questions. It's the first question is particularly interesting, because what we have now, thanks to the merger, is a capacity to expand domestically in a way we could not do before. If you are duty-free operator, you basically can expand on international travel. But now having also the F&B, we can address very interesting domestic markets, like China, like Indonesia, like India. And in all those countries, we have signed, or we are going to announce soon, that we have signed contracts to expand into the domestic market. On international airports in Asia, duty-free remains the most interesting segment, and we keep focusing on those there. But if I would need to give an expectations of the next few years, I think you're gonna see expansion on domestic and international.
You're gonna see expansion on F&B and convenience, as well as in duty-free. 50/50, 60/40, so significant balance in the expansion. I mentioned Chinese traffic. If you are only on duty-free, you are suffering now. But if you are in domestic and F&B, and we have opened very interesting F&B and convenience stores inside domestic Chinese airports, and that has worked very well. We have closed down some activities, and that includes full airports, or a full, some specific shops and restaurants. But when I mention it, it's because it's more than one or two stores I didn't. It's exiting some airports. And we did that, and the leadership in Asia has been very clear on that. Before you expand, you need to get rid of those places where you know structurally it was not the right place to be.
Alibaba, the relationship remains super strong, and as you very well pointed out, they are our partner of choice for technology development, focusing on Chinese traveler, but also in Southeast Asia. As you know, they have also a very strong online platform in Southeast Asia. We have already now in the pipeline 20 locations worldwide, in Asia, but also outside Asia, where we are launching over the next three, four, six months, mini apps, provided by Alibaba, and that will be a way to engage prior to the trip, these Asian passengers that use the different software apps and engagement with Alibaba. And I think I answered all your questions?
Yes, very clear. Thank you so much, Xavier.
Thank you, Marco.
We now move to the questions coming from the webcast. The first question is from Santiago Domingo, from Magallanes Value Investors, asking: In terms of capital allocation, do you think would be a reasonable option to buy some of your own shares back? Your results are good, your perspectives too. You have deleveraged your balance sheet, and above all, your share price is quite low. Thanks.
Thank you very much for the question. I think we've been clear on the capital allocation policy we have today, and we stick to it. I think combining organic growth, strategic growth, with potentially some small bolt-on acquisitions, and at the same time be able to deleverage and distribute a dividend that has just been approved yesterday, I think it's already a big step forward. Let's continue with that, and any other consideration of only any other options, it's something we have to leave for the future. At this stage, the board and management are very clear that what we have disclosed so far is the way forward for the time being. Thank you.
The next question is from Sophie Varney, from Oaktree Capital, asking: Congrats on the great results. Please, can you repeat the LFL revenue growth for EMEA and North America? And when, roughly, are you expecting to have 10% of revenue from APAC? Thanks.
I don't think I disclosed it, but in North America and EMEA, the organic growth and the like-for-like growth are very similar because there has not been a material change of scope. So you could consider that is maybe half a point, more or less, here or there, but it's basically the same. And the second question was?
When we reach 10% of-
Ah, when we reach 10%! That's a good question. Look, I think it would be good, actually, it would be excellent, if we reach that in the next two, three years, maybe earlier. But one thing that is difficult to give a guidance or an outlook on that specific percentage, is that we keep growing very strongly in the rest of the regions. So to grow your percentage inside the portfolio, you need to grow very fast. But we have good prospects, so I would suggest you ask me again in the next quarter, and then maybe we have more things to specifically talk about.
We have another question from Sophie Varney: Are you seeing any consumer changes in alcohol, tobacco purchases, demographic, basket size, for example?
Thank you for the question. As I showed in page eight of the presentation, it's very interesting that these two categories have decreased... No, no, don't, don't move the, the slide. that those two categories have, decreased on the size of the portfolio... The answer to your question is yes, of course. Different, nationalities, different age groups, they consume different. There are alternative products that are growing. There are places where people focuses more on premium, wine and spirits than in others. There are all kind of, of, of trends, but the beauty of Avolta is that we can adapt to those trends. I think I gave an example a few months back. I mean, some new big traveler nationalities, they consume unexpected alcohol. So instead of whiskey, they go to tequila.
For us, it's absolutely neutral because we just need to change the offering. So we follow those trends very closely. We have more and better data, and it's only the beginning, but still, we have more and better data than anybody else, and we can adapt our offering to that. It's one of the key advantages that being part of Avolta has, is the access to that data that allows us to do really a fine-tuning of the offering, the promotions, the- not only the assortment, but also how we offer that assortment, how we interact with the different type of passengers.
The next question is from Arben Hasanaj from Vontobel. Can you clarify the underlying growth in APAC again, and why it deviates from the 5% organic growth?
It's very simple. We exited some big contracts last year, which makes... They are not in the first three months of this year, and they were there on the first three months of 2023. It's a change of scope. Melbourne being the main one, not the only one. So if you eliminate that, the growth in APAC is 21.6% like-for-like.
That was the last question. Would you like to add any further comments?
Just to thank all the questions, all the people attending, and for those people that are Avolta team members, once more, my thanks and the thanks of the entire management and board of directors for your daily job. We feel proud of being on the same team than you. Thank you very much. I know it's not easy, the day-to-day of all our restaurants and all our shops and getting there, so thank you for your outstanding job. Thank you, the moderator also, for your help, and everybody that has supported us in organizing this event. Thank you very much.