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(Alliance News) - Budget airline easyJet PLC on Tuesday said it has inked a sale and leaseback pact for nine aircraft to strengthen the company's financial position, netting USD398.6 million in total.
Shares in easyJet were down 2.2% at 508.40 pence each in London.
The first transaction was executed with Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Ltd for the sale and leaseback of five Airbus 320 aircraft. The aircraft will generate cash sales proceeds of USD191.1 million. They are leased back for an average term of 117 months, creating lease obligations of GBP123.7 million.
The second agreement was executed with Sky High 112 Leasing Co Ltd for the sale and leaseback of four Airbus 320 aircraft. The aircraft will generate cash sales proceeds of USD207.5 million and are leased back for an average of 116 months, creating lease obligations of GBP108.0 million.
Following completion of the two agreements, easyJet will retain 152 fully owned and unencumbered aircraft, representing 44% of the fleet.
The FTSE 250-listed company said it will continue to review its liquidity position and assess further funding options, including sale and leaseback deals.
Earlier in October, easyJet had suspended its dividend payment after issuing a profit warning.
The company said the dividend suspension would strengthen liquidity in the face of the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
easyJet had guided for a headline pretax loss in the range of GBP815 million to GBP845 million for the year ended September 30 versus GBP427 million headline pretax profit recorded in the year ago period. Its fourth quarter loss is expected to be slimmer than its third quarter one.
Passenger numbers for the full-year are estimated to have halved to 48 million. Load factor for the year decreased by 4.3 percentage points to 87.2%.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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