Publication of Sustainability Report 2020

Letter from Ginés Clemente, Aciturri's Chief Executive Officer

Dear friends,
Thank you for taking the time to learn about Aciturri’s activity in 2020, which was undoubtedly the hardest year for our company since it was founded 44 years ago. With the purpose of sharing details about the social, economic and environmental impact of our activity with our stakeholders, we drafted this document based on the guidelines of Law 11/2018, aimed at amending the requirements regarding non-financial information, and following the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In 2020, we renewed one more time our commitment to the United Nations Global Compact as signatory partners.

Last year, all of us were exposed to the cruel reality of a pandemic. Some of us contracted the disease, some experienced it through people we were very close to. And in many cases, we lost someone from our family or a friend. I want the first words of this letter to convey to you my most sincere support in these tragic circumstances. I must also express my gratitude to all the people on Aciturri’s team who, in times of greatest need, left their families to come to our plants and manufacture thousands of gowns, face shields, and other PPE needed by health care professionals and other key workers during the first few weeks of this nightmare. I am deeply proud of your generosity and I will not tire of thanking you for this touching gesture.

The decrease in air traffic in 2020, with a 65.9% drop in air travel demand from 2019 according to data provided by IATA, is forcing us to face the worst crisis in the history of the aviation industry. In our company, both the aerostructures and the engine divisions experienced a decrease of approximately 50% in workload levels and a similar impact on sales volume. Despite COVID 19, we managed to address the situations we had to face, in some cases by making difficult and very painful decisions, but always assuming our responsibility and with the full conviction that they were adequate to ensure the viability of the activity.

At  the  same  time,  we  were  convinced  of  the  sustainability  of  our  project,  so  we  went ahead with the most important investments in new equipment and facilities, and worked to increase capacities and improve competences, always focusing on maintaining a level of competitiveness that will satisfy new market demands as the recovery occurs. The level of uncertainty remains very high for the foreseeable future. The most optimistic estimates  put  the  market  recovery  to  pre-pandemic  levels  in  2024-2025.  The  journey  to  get there will be neither short nor easy, and we cannot rule out further sacrifices from the companies in the sector. In order to make this journey, we have a new Board of Directors. We welcomed professionals from  different  fields,  all  of  them  with  an  important  background  in  the  development  of  industrial projects. Likewise, we entrusted the management to a new management team that, led by Álvaro Fernández Baragaño, is already working to achieve the goals set out in the 2021-2024 Feasibility Plan.

These  decisions,  together  with  the  trust  from  our  financial  suppliers  and  the  company’s shareholders,  help  us  face  the  future  by  working  more  than  ever,  with  the  tremendous excitement and determination that have brought us all the way here.