After the Jungfrau Railway Group's business suffered massively due to the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the situation gradually normalised in the second half of 2022 after the final restrictions were lifted. The transport income of CHF 139.2 million represents an increase of 77% over the previous year. The Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe segments contributed CHF 81.8 million (+88%), the Experience Mountains CHF 27.0 million (+80%) and Winter Sports CHF 30.4 million (+50%) to this result.

The operating expenses of CHF 120.3 million represent an increase of 18% compared to the previous year. Personnel costs increased by 14% to CHF 63.9 million compared to the previous year. In spite of the energy crisis, the increase in energy procurements was kept low thanks to long-term energy supply contracts. Other operating expenses increased by CHF 6.4 million to CHF 46.8 million.

EBITDA more than tripled to CHF 93.8 million. The depreciation of CHF 42.3 million includes one-off special depreciation on decommissioned rolling stock of CHF 3.2 million. EBIT amounted to CHF 51.5 million. After taxes of CHF 8.4 million and extraordinary income of CHF 1.6 million, which includes retroactively granted short-time work compensation from the years 2020 and 2021 for holidays and holiday shares of employees on monthly salary, the annual result was CHF 44.4 million.

All interest-bearing bank loans amortised

The high cash flow enabled Jungfraubahn Holding AG to fully amortise all interest-bearing bank loans, with the exception of a bank loan to finance rolling stock for the Lauterbrunnen-Mürren Mountain Railway. In addition, the liquid assets increased by CHF 23.5 million to CHF 41.3 million. With an equity ratio of 76% and equity of CHF 640 million, the balance sheet is rock solid – and this after two years of pandemic and two years after the commissioning of the V-Cableway project, the largest investment project in the history of Jungfrau Railways.

The pleasing results show that the Jungfrau Railway Group has quickly found its way back to regular operations after the pandemic. This becomes particularly clear when the 2022 results are compared with 2019, the last year before the pandemic. Transport income in 2022, for example, was only 14% or CHF 22.6 million below the 2019 level. The cost-saving measures taken during the pandemic also had a positive effect in 2022. Operating expenses were the same as in 2019, although with the opening of the Eiger Express, the terminal and multi-storey car park in Grindelwald Grund, new Top of Europe shops and additional catering establishments, the Jungfrau Railway Group's business activities have been significantly expanded since then.

Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe

The business success of Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe, the most important segment, depends directly on the number of guests. After the two pandemic years, demand from intercontinental markets remained modest in the first quarter of 2022. It began to recover bit by bit from the second quarter onwards. In December 2022, for the first time, the same number of guests visited the Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe as before the crisis. A total of about 625,000 visitors were welcomed in the reporting year. This is still a good 40% less than before the crisis.

The trend in the second half of 2022 gives management confidence for the future. The excursion to the Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe has become even more attractive thanks to the new connection with the Eiger Express. The feedback given by guests from all markets impressively confirms this. The Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe segment achieved a turnover of CHF 128.2 million and an EBITDA of CHF 47.3 million.

Experience Mountains

The Experience Mountains performed extremely well in 2022: while the Lauterbrunnen-Mürren Mountain Rail- and Cableway returned to pre-crisis levels, both the First Gondola and the Harder Funicular achieved record figures. The clear positioning that we have established over the years is paying off. As of May 2022, for example, a remarkably large number of individual travellers from abroad visited the Experience Mountains. In addition to high frequencies on the railways and gondolas, this also led to higher average ticket revenues as well as higher sales in the rented catering establishments. The Grindelwald First adventure offer experienced record sales. The Experience Mountains segment achieved a turnover of CHF 37.4 million and an EBITDA of CHF 23.8 million.

Winter Sports

The snowy winter of 2021/2022 and the persistently beautiful weather between February 2022 and end of the season ensured perfect winter sports conditions. The demand from winter sports guests was correspondingly high. After the enjoyment of winter sports had been negatively impacted by pandemic-related gastronomic limitations in the previous year, people clearly wanted to make up for this. Together with the novelty effect of the V-Cableway 's state-of-the-art facilities, it was possible to gain market shares and equal the record season of 2007/2008. The start of the 2022/2023 winter season was the fourth best in the last ten years. Despite the energy crisis and little snow, the decline in skier visits compared to the previous year was kept within limits thanks to artificial snow and the V-Cableway.

*The other segments especially include the Jungfrau Railway power station, Jungfraubahnen Management AG and the multi-storey car parks in Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen.

Investments

The Jungfrau Railway Group made investments of CHF 28.9 million in the reporting year, compared with CHF 65.3 million in 2021.

The largest current investment project is the renewal of the adhesion railway of the Lauterbrunnen-Mürren Mountain Rail- and Cableway, which is financed by the Canton of Berne as part of the transport entitled to a levy. For the entire renovation of the Lauterbrunnen-Mürren Mountain Rail- and Cableway, investments of CHF 63 million are planned. In 2022, a total of CHF 11.5 million was invested for this purpose, of which CHF 7.4 million was financed directly via an increase to the interest-free investment loan from the Canton of Bern. Due to the delay in the delivery of the rolling stock, the completely renewed Lauterbrunnen-Mürren Mountain Rail- and Cableway will be put into service in June 2024 instead of the planned timetable change on 9 December 2023.

The Wengernalp Railway invested CHF 6.0 million in new rolling stock for the "Wengen Shuttle", which will go into operation in December 2023. This investment was also financed directly by the purchasers.

Outlook

2023 got off to a positive start for Jungfraujoch. Between 1 January and 31 March 2023, 106,852 guests visited the Top of Europe, an increase of 115 per cent compared to the same period last year. In the case of the Experience Mountains, the figures for the First Gondola and the Lauterbrunnen-Mürren Mountain Rail- and Cableway are encouraging. The Harder Funicular will start its new season on 7 April 2023. 

The fourth-best start to the season in the last ten years was recorded for the winter sports season 2022/2023. By 31 March 2023, 1,016,651 skier visits were registered; this is 13 per cent less than the same period in the 2021/2022 season, which equalled the record season of 2007/2008. However, sales of sports passes increased significantly in the current winter season due to the simplification of the product range.

The pandemic has heralded and strengthened the trend towards individual travel. This development will be sustainable and the Jungfrau Railway Group will align its services even more closely with growing requirements in the areas of comfort, quality and shortened travel times. The investments the Jungfrau Railway Group has made in digital customer guidance, new distribution systems and the connection of new sales channels are already paying off. This does not mean the end of group tours, but the groups are tending to get smaller.

The products of the Jungfrau Railway Group depend on an intact natural and social environment. Promoting rail instead of road is an essential part of the sustainability strategy. The aim is to achieve integrated sustainability management with a view to the seven Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are of central importance to the company. Reporting will be carried out in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards from 2024. The CO2 footprint, which was calculated for the first time in the 2022 financial year, will be further upgraded in 2023. In addition, the ISO 14001 certification in environmental management is due be carried out in the current year by means of a maintenance audit.

Annual report and proposals to the General Meeting

The General Meeting of Jungfraubahn Holding AG will be held in Interlaken on 15 May 2023. Due to the positive development, the Board of Directors proposes to distribute a dividend of CHF 3.60 per share. This puts the payout ratio in the middle of the target range of 35%-60%. 

The Jungfraubahn Holding AG Annual Report for the 2022 reporting year was produced as an online edition. The online annual report is published under the following link:

• Annual Report 2022: https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/corporate/investor-relations/jungfraubahn-holding-ag/business-reports/

• Link to the Agenda of the General Meeting 2023: https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/corporate/investor-relations/jungfraubahn-holding-ag/general-meeting/