TAP - Comment

On a day where the presence of new Covid 19 in South Africa and the absence of investors from New York are wrecking havoc, especially in the travel sector, TAP’s Q3 release yesterday went almost unnoticed. Operating results were encouraging, in line with thesis perhaps, but much better than our model. Passenger revenues have been coming back 2x as fast as modelled over the summer as borders opened and the quarterly EBITDA loss has narrowed to approx. €150m on a pre-IFRS-16 basis - €50m better than our expectations. The company is expecting a favourable decision from the European Competition Authority before year end - which probably means February.