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Air New Zealand 2018 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting Materials

AGM26 September 2018AIRIndustrials

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ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING

WEDNESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2018


TONY CARTER OPENING REMARKS


Kia ora, good afternoon everyone and welcome to Air New Zealand’s 2018 Annual Shareholders Meeting

here in Christchurch. My name is Tony Carter and I am the chair of the Air New Zealand board. This

meeting is being webcast live for the benefit of those unable to attend in person, and we have members

of the media in attendance. Part of our commitment to shareholders is making our meetings as

accessible as possible regardless of physical location. Today we are very pleased to welcome those of

you participating online through our virtual meeting platform provided by our share registrar, Link

Market Services. We hope that holding a virtual meeting will continue to support greater participation

and engagement amongst our shareholders. Welcome to you all.


Before we formally begin, I would like to introduce you to my fellow Air New Zealand Board members.


From my far right:

• Sir John Key

• Rob Jager

• Jan Dawson


And from my far left:

• Dame Therese Walsh

• Jonathan Mason

• Linda Jenkinson

• and our Chief Executive Officer, Christopher Luxon


Seated in the front row and assisting us today are:

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• Jeff McDowall, the company’s Chief Financial Officer

• Karen Clayton, General Counsel and Company Secretary

• James Gibson from Bell Gully, the company’s lawyers

• and Peter Gulliver from Deloitte, the company’s auditors on behalf of the Auditor General


We also have several other members of the Executive team and our share registrar Link Market Services

present today.


Before moving on,

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the operational challenges that

we have faced this year. While there was not a material financial impact to our 2018 results, we do know

that these operational disruptions have impacted our customers and our people. Christopher will

address this topic more fully during his remarks, but I wanted to take this moment to thank all our Air

New Zealanders for their substantial efforts this past year.



I would also like to personally thank Bruce Parton, who retired from Air New Zealand last week, after

22 years with the airline. Bruce has made an immense contribution throughout his career and has

played an instrumental role in the success of our Company, most recently as Chief Operations

Officer. On behalf of everyone here today I would like to sincerely thank Bruce for his contribution

and wish him all the best for the future.


Following Bruce’s departure, the Operations function has been organised into two pillars – one

focused on Ground Operations and the other focused on Air Operations. We have been most

fortunate to welcome back Carrie Hurihanganui into our Chief Ground Operations Officer role.

Carrie spent 18 years with the airline in a variety of senior management positions before joining

National Australia Bank last year and brings a very customer-focused perspective to the role.

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Alongside our Chief Air Operations & People Safety Officer John Whittaker, this vital area of our

business is in very capable hands.


Additionally, I would like to acknowledge Avi Golan, our Chief Digital Officer, who will be leaving Air

New Zealand to return to the US at the end of October to be closer to family. Over the past three

years Avi has built up an extremely strong culture of digital talent that is the envy of New Zealand

and has provided invaluable expertise in the role that digital plays in our ability to compete and

innovate within the travel sector.


Now for the formalities of the meeting - I note that there is a quorum present and I declare the meeting

open. Notice of the meeting was duly given and the meeting has been properly convened. We will turn

to resolutions later in the meeting. Please note that only shareholders, proxy holders or shareholder

company representatives may vote.


The order of events for this afternoon’s meeting will be as follows:


• I will discuss the company’s performance for the 2018 financial year and the outlook for 2019.


• Following my address, we will hear from Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon on the company’s

strategic priorities going forward.


• Then we will open the floor to any questions you may have regarding the 2018 financial performance

or the 2019 outlook.


• I will then move to the two formal resolutions of the meeting. Voting on the resolutions will be

conducted by way of poll. For those of you here with us in Christchurch, you will be able to cast your

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vote by filling out the form you brought with you or received at the registration desk on your way in,

which will be collected at the end of the meeting. If you are a shareholder and did not register on

arrival and wish to vote, please make your way to the registration desk just outside the room and

staff from Link will assist you.


• This year, we are again enabling people who attend the meeting and who are entitled to vote, to do

so using their smart phone. Shareholders using their smart phones for voting today will need to

have registered with a PIN prior to entering the meeting.


• For those attending the meeting online, you will be able to cast your vote using the electronic voting

card that you received when you validated your registration. If you have any issues, please refer to

the virtual annual meeting online portal guide that has been sent to shareholders and can also be

found on the main page of our investor centre website.


• Following the voting, I will open the floor to any general questions you may have. Those of you

present at the meeting will be able to ask questions as well as those participating online through the

virtual meeting website.


• We have also received some questions from shareholders prior to the meeting which we will address

during this session.


• Immediately after the conclusion of the meeting, we invite our shareholders who are attending in

person this afternoon to join us for some refreshments with our Board in the foyer. While you are

there, please feel free to experience our new Acro seats that will be on our A320 and A321 NEO

aircraft, which will be entering service shortly.

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CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS


Air New Zealand delivered its second highest financial result for our investors in 2018, driven by strong

operating revenue of $5.5 billion dollars, which was a record for the airline. Earnings before taxation for

2018 were $540 million dollars, up 2.5 percent on last year.


We were able to achieve this impressive financial result despite experiencing a number of operational

challenges, as well as a $135 million headwind from increased fuel prices in the year. If we were to look

at our 2018 versus 2017 earnings on a comparable fuel price basis, we actually delivered a 38 percent

increase in earnings, which was driven by very strong revenue performance across our key markets, as

well as continued focus on managing our operating costs.


Turning to some of the other key financial highlights of the past year, operating revenue of $5.5 billion

dollars increased 7.4 percent from the prior year due to strong demand and positive pricing dynamics

across most of our major markets, as well as growth in our cargo and contract services businesses. We

continue to generate very strong operating cash flow of $1 billion dollars, and our pre-tax return on

invested capital was 14.5 percent.


The airline’s balance sheet continues to be in a strong position, with cash holdings of $1.3 billion dollars

and gearing of 52.4 percent. This is slightly higher than last year’s gearing of 51.8 percent, reflecting

foreign exchange movements and additional investment in new aircraft during the year, however it is

still within our target range of 45 to 55 percent.


Our financial strength is reflected in our Baa2 investment grade credit rating, which ranks among the

highest of airlines in the world.


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As the result of a positive medium-term outlook, the airline's financial strength and capital commitments

over the next few years, as well as the current trading environment, the Board was pleased to announce

a fully imputed final dividend of 11 cents per share. That brings our total imputed ordinary dividends for

the 2018 year to 22 cents per share, an increase of nearly five percent.


Turning now to the outlook for 2019. As we look forward to the year ahead, we are optimistic about

market dynamics and demand trends, but note that the current levels of jet fuel price will be a headwind

on profitability compared to the prior year.


At the 2018 annual results announcement, we stated that underlying earnings before taxation is

expected to be in the range of $425 million to $525 million dollars, excluding an estimated $30 million

to $40 million-dollar impact from schedule changes prompted by the global Rolls-Royce engine issues.

Whilst that outlook statement assumed an average jet fuel price of $85 US dollars per barrel, j et fuel has

recently been trading above this level.


Before I hand over to Christopher to provide a business and strategic update, I wanted to briefly touch

on my announced retirement which will occur at next year’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. It has been

my privi

lege to lead such an iconic Kiwi company - next year I will have served as a Director of Air New

Zealand for nine years, so I feel this is the appropriate time to move on.


Dame Therese Walsh will succeed me as Chairman of Air New Zealand, having received unanimous

support from her fellow Directors.



With that, I would like to thank you, our shareholders, for your loyalty to Air New Zealand and for your

time here today. I will now hand over to Christopher Luxon.

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S ADDRESS


Thanks Tony. E nga mana, E nga reo, E nga rau rangitira ma, Tena kotou katoa. Ngai Tahu whanui, nga

mihi ki a koutou.


Kia Ora and good afternoon everyone, and thanks for taking the time to join us here today, both in

person and online. It is a real pleasure to be able to hold our Annual Shareholders Meeting here in

Christchurch. It is always good to be back in this area for a boy born and raised in Bishopdale and

Avonhead.


I wanted to start off by saying that we are very proud of the financial achievements of the 2018 financial

year. We achieved the second-highest financial result in Air New Zealand’s history while dealing with

some extraordinary operational challenges. If we put 2018 into context, we dealt with the rupture of

the fuel pipeline into Auckland last September, challenges with airport infrastructure, the unscheduled

maintenance issues on the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, a number of extreme weather events and

last but certainly not least, rising fuel prices. The fact that we were still able to achieve such a strong

result in this environment speaks volumes about the competitive advantages we have spent years

building, and about the extraordinary dedication and commitment of our people.


Those of you that followed our financial results announcement in August will know that the biggest

operational challenge we are dealing with relates to the on-going Rolls Royce engine issues. While I want

to be very clear that this is not a safety issue, it has had a huge operational impact on our overall network

and our customers.


Last December when these issues first arose, we took immediate steps to secure temporary aircraft to

keep our customers moving during the very busy holiday season, rather than cancel hundreds of flights,

which is what a number of other airlines around the world elected to do. At the same time, we have

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been working very closely with Rolls Royce and our own engineering and maintenance experts to

determine when we will be able to complete the preventative maintenance checks for those impacted

engines.


As a temporary measure to support our network, we have secured three dry leased aircraft from two of

the world’s best airlines while we work through the engine maintenance schedule with Rolls Royce. A

dry lease just means that our pilots and crew operate the aircraft, even though they are not Air New

Zealand planes. We have also proactively made adjustments to our schedule to free up the equivalent

of two wide bodied aircraft, which will provide greater stability and certainty to our schedule going

forward. With the three leased aircraft and two additional widebody aircraft freed up from schedule

changes, we will have the cover we need to enable the 787s to cycle through their maintenance checks

in the background, while we deliver a better core schedule experience for our customers.


As I know from the last seven years at the airline, Air New Zealand’s ability to continue to deliver

exceptional returns and sustainable growth for you, our investors, will depend on our success across a

number of key areas, and on our ability to respond to changes in market conditions and one-off events

with resilience and agility.

One of those key areas is reinvestment in the customer experience. Our customers are the core of our

business and we are hugely committed to creating an exceptional travel experience.

This year we have some exciting things happening in the fleet space with new Airbus NEO aircraft

commencing on our Tasman and Pacific Islands network. From 2020, we will also be introducing A321

NEO aircraft on our domestic routes, which will provide significantly more seats and fuel efficiency than

the current aircraft. This will support the strong domestic growth we have seen over the last five years

and continue to see looking forward.

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Looking a few years ahead, we will be replacing our Boeing 777-200 fleet, which is the oldest widebody

aircraft we have. Work is being done now to assess what aircraft will be most suited to our future

network, and we will be announcing the result sometime in the first half of calendar 2019.

As part of the 777-200 replacement programme, our team is also looking at designing the new business

class seat of the future to ensure we continue to provide a superior on-board experience for our

customers. Additionally, with the rapid advance of digital technology we are looking at digital

innovations that will give customers greater flexibility and connectivity during their flight.

Beyond our fleet we will continue to invest in the customer proposition with further investment in

regional lounges, customer contact centres and digital technology, as well as enhancements to the

inflight products we offer including seats, inflight entertainment and food.

We have also recently announced that we will begin construction next month on a new, much larger

regional lounge at Auckland Airport, as part of a $60 million investment in lounges throughout New

Zealand over the next two years. We know there is huge demand for our lounges, so we’re thrilled to be

able to go through the process of redeveloping regional lounges in Auckland, Christchurch, Nelson and

Tauranga along with our domestic lounge in Wellington to enhance the experience our customers have

on the ground before they fly.

Moving on to dynamics in the coming year, I am very optimistic about the market dynamics across our

key markets. The competitive environment has stabilised and more importantly, underlying demand is

looking very robust. From a macroeconomic perspective, we see continued strength in the New Zealand

economy, despite some of the commentary in the media, and we believe this supports both domestic

and outbound travel. Inbound tourism is also strong, up around 4 percent year on year.


Air New Zealand’s Pacific Rim growth strategy has allowed for consistently profitable network expansion

over the past five years, with 17 million passengers travelling with us this year compared with 13 million

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back in 2013. As we look to these positive demand signals in combination with our own strategic

priorities, we are expecting to grow our business by one million customers a year, reaching 19 million

customers by the end of 2020.


If we consider New Zealand tourism dynamics – they are in good shape. Tourism is currently the

country’s biggest export earner, generating $14.5 billion in export earnings. The challenge continuing to

face New Zealand tourism however, is how we can realise more valuable growth from wealthier tourists

who are looking for a premium holiday destination instead of simply looking at lower value but higher

volume tourism which puts more strain on the country’s resources.


In the coming year, we will grow our network by 4 to 6 percent, predominantly driven by growth in the

Tasman and international long-haul networks. Our Domestic network continues to be a key pillar of our

strategy and is supported by strong business traffic as well as growth in domestic leisure travel. Offshore

demand for domestic travel has also been growing strongly. As a result, this year we expect domestic

capacity to increase by 3 to 5 percent. The Tasman and Pacific Islands network is targeted to grow

between 7 to 9 percent this year. Capacity growth in this region will be supported by our new A321

NEO’s which have approximately 25 percent more seats than the current A320s flying those routes.


Looking further abroad, we are anticipating capacity growth of around 3 to 5 percent in our international

long-haul markets, which will be driven from new destinations in both Asia and North America, as well

as an additional daily service to Singapore which we will operate from April 2019.


We have some great opportunities to execute on this year with the launch of four new routes. Direct

services to Chicago will begin in November, further deepening our footprint into the US market and

offering our customers more ways to get to the United States and more connection opportunities

beyond our US gateways. The US continues to be a large focus for us, as we know through our market

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development work that there are approximately 34 million people in that country who are actively

considering a vacation in New Zealand, along with other potential destinations. However, last year we

only had around 340 thousand visitors come from the US. That is a significant opportunity for us and for

New Zealand tourism. Part of that disconnect is related to the perception that New Zealand is a 40-hour

flight away. Our entry into markets in the Midwest such as Houston and now Chicago will go a long way

to overcoming that hesitation and help convert the huge number of active considerers into actual

visitors.


Moving on, Taipei will become our seventh destination in Asia and will be another strong addition to our

Asian network, which has been a key pillar of growth in recent years. We will also start new direct

services to Brisbane from Wellington and Queenstown beginning in December. Australia is our biggest

international market, with over 1.4 million inbound visitors this year and we have about 35 percent

market share, the largest of any airline on the Tasman. As such, these new routes will strengthen our

already robust customer proposition in Australasia.


As I have mentioned in previous years, our success is inextricably linked to the success of New Zealand

and our mission to supercharge New Zealand’s success is what drives us every day. That means

promoting New Zealand socially, economically and environmentally. To help achieve that mission, we

continue to drive strong targets for sustainability, notably fully offsetting our domestic carbon emissions

from January 2019 and achieving carbon neutral growth on our overall network by 2020.


But we are working on so much more than just carbon emissions – for example, inflight waste is a huge

challenge for the airline industry, so we are focused on playing our part and reducing the amount of

waste we generate. In the past year, the recycling rates on our domestic jet network have improved by

eight percent as a result of stronger collaboration between cabin crew and our operational teams to

collect and separate recyclables. On the international network, one of our initiatives to reduce inflight

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waste has already succeeded in diverting 150 tonnes from landfills within one year. In addition to that,

another 82 tonnes of glass have also been diverted from landfills, bringing the total to more than 230

tonnes. That is equal to the size of one of our empty Boeing 777 aircraft.


These are just a couple of examples of how we are playing our part in supercharging New Zealand’s

success and this is something you can be sure we will keep striving to improve on.


I want to now take this opportunity to thank everyone for their attention today, both in person and

online, and your continued support of our airline. I hope you all feel very proud of your investment –

our recent performance and more importantly the opportunities we have ahead of us.


Thank you.

---

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Tony Carter
Paul BinghamRob JagerDame Therese WalshSir John Key

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Meeting agenda
•Chairman’s address

•CEO’s address

•Questions on 2018

performance and 2019

outlook

•Resolutions

•General discussion and

questions

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Our second-highest result in the airline’s 78-year history
Earnings before taxation

2014

2015

2016

20172018

$358M

$474M

$663M

$527M

$540M

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$5.5b
Operating revenue

2018

financial

highlights

$540m

Earnings before taxation

$1.0b

Operating cash flow

14.5%

Pre-tax return on invested

capital

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$1.3b
Cash on hand

Balance sheet

remains strong

52.4%

Gearing

Baa2

Investment grade

credit rating

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Delivering strong dividends for our shareholders
Ordinary dividends declared

10 cps

16 cps

20 cps

21 cps

22 cps

2014*20152016*20172018

*Does not include special dividends, which were declared in 2014 (10.0 cents per share) and 2016 (25.0 cents per share)

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2019 Outlook
Based upon current market

conditions and assuming an

average jet fuel price of US$85

per barrel, 2019 underlying

earnings before taxation is

expected to be in the range of

$425 million to $525 million

This excludes an estimated

$30 million to $40 million

impact from schedule changes

prompted by the global Rolls-

Royce engine issues

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10

A resilient
business

model

providing

strong results

in all market

conditions

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Reinvesting in
the customer

experience

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ONE MILLION
CUSTOMERS A YEAR TO 2020

ANTICIPATING AN ADDITIONAL

Positive market

dynamics

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DOMESTIC
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ASIA

PACIFIC ISLANDS

NORTH AMERICA

EUROPE

SOUTH AMERICA

TASMAN

2019 capacity will increase 4% to 6%

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Our success is linked to the success of New Zealand
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Questions on
2018 performance

and 2019 outlook

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Resolutions
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Proxies and postal votes received
(as at 24 September 2018)

Proxy votesPostal votes

Resolution

ForAgainstAbstainDiscretionForAgainstAbstain

Resolution 1:

349,100,60411,407,2002,019,335583,680,7861,198,42020,73037,393

Re-election of

Tony Carter

Resolution 2:

360,701,7713,3331,819,335583,683,4861,177,85521,65357,035

Re-election of

Rob Jager

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20

21

General
discussion

and questions

22

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