Air Berlin Delays USD$1.6 Bln Plane Orders
October 25, 2011
Air Berlin pushed back delivery of 19 aircraft valued at just over USD$1.6 billion at current list prices to shore up cash as it tries to shrink its way back to profitability.
Germany's second-biggest airline after Lufthansa said on Tuesday it was postponing delivery of 11 of Airbus's A320 family of planes and eight of Boeing's 737 family due for delivery in 2012 and 2013 until 2015 and 2016.
That still leaves 31 planes of those aircraft families due for delivery in the next two years. A spokeswoman for Air Berlin declined to say how many aircraft the carrier still has on order overall.
Shares of Air Berlin, which have lost about 29 percent of their value so far this year, closed down 0.75 percent at EUR€2.64.
Air Berlin has had a rocky ride so far this year, with founder and chief executive Joachim Hunold stepping down in August after failing to return the company to profit for several years.
Between 2006 and 2009, Air Berlin made acquisitions worth about EUR€500 million (USD$694.2 million) and ordered dozens of planes as Hunold strove to super-size the carrier, leaving it burdened with debt and dozens of expensive aircraft on order.
It has already tried to cut the amount of money it spends on new planes by pushing back and cancelling aircraft orders as well agreeing to sell and lease back new planes. Some 80 percent of its fleet is currently leased rather than owned.
Air Berlin's net debt rose 26 percent in the six months to the end of the second quarter, to EUR€616 million, as the company spent money on financing new aircraft. It is due to publish third-quarter results on November 17.
Germany's second-biggest airline after Lufthansa said on Tuesday it was postponing delivery of 11 of Airbus's A320 family of planes and eight of Boeing's 737 family due for delivery in 2012 and 2013 until 2015 and 2016.
That still leaves 31 planes of those aircraft families due for delivery in the next two years. A spokeswoman for Air Berlin declined to say how many aircraft the carrier still has on order overall.
Shares of Air Berlin, which have lost about 29 percent of their value so far this year, closed down 0.75 percent at EUR€2.64.
Air Berlin has had a rocky ride so far this year, with founder and chief executive Joachim Hunold stepping down in August after failing to return the company to profit for several years.
Between 2006 and 2009, Air Berlin made acquisitions worth about EUR€500 million (USD$694.2 million) and ordered dozens of planes as Hunold strove to super-size the carrier, leaving it burdened with debt and dozens of expensive aircraft on order.
It has already tried to cut the amount of money it spends on new planes by pushing back and cancelling aircraft orders as well agreeing to sell and lease back new planes. Some 80 percent of its fleet is currently leased rather than owned.
Air Berlin's net debt rose 26 percent in the six months to the end of the second quarter, to EUR€616 million, as the company spent money on financing new aircraft. It is due to publish third-quarter results on November 17.
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