Lufthansa

On the day that IAG said it was not going to raise substantial sums from shareholders to cover its Covid costs (see in this week's BTN) Lufthansa Group  announced it would be raising €2.1bn “to strengthen the balance sheet and to enable the early repayment of stabilization measures in Germany.” (19:00 Sunday 19 September)

Under a deal done in June 20% of Lufthansa Group is now owned by the German State.  The statement noted that the European Social Fund (ESF) holds 15.94%, with some overseas investors gaining a small foothold.

Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said: “The stabilization package agreed with the ESF has enabled Lufthansa to protect the jobs of more than 100,000 employees. We have always made it clear that we will only retain the stabilization package for as long as it is necessary. We are therefore proud that we can now deliver on our promise and repay the measures faster than originally expected. We can now fully focus on the further transformation of the Lufthansa Group.”

Capacity offered by the Group’s airlines has returned to more than half of pre-crisis levels, the airline noted.  Load factors exceeded 70% in August and current bookings indicate a sustained demand recovery. Similar to July and August, the Group expects passenger numbers to reach around half of 2019 levels over the coming months, supported by the noticeable recovery of corporate travel. At the same time, cargo trends continue to be strong, supported by sustained capacity shortages and high demand.

The share offering is fully underwritten by a consortium of banks and investors.

Also see in this week’s BTN British Airways – What next?

www.lufthansagroup.com/en/home.html

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