FJET.L Regulatory News (FJET)

fastjet Plc

("fastjet", the "Company" or the "Group")

Update on Trading, Capital Requirements and the Restructuring Proposal

27 January 2020

fastjet, the low-cost African airline, is today providing an update on trading, the proposed restructuring of the Group and the Group's capital requirements following the announcement on 27 November 2019.

Trading update

Trading to the year end, including through the peak holiday season, was in line with management's expectations as previously announced. Revenue including fastjet Zimbabwe is expected to be US$ 42m (2018: US$ 39m) for the year ended 31 December 2019 with a loss after tax of US$ 7m to US$ 8m (2018: loss of US$ 65m).

Cash position

As at 23 January 2020, the Group had cash reserves of US$ 3.0m with no restricted cash. Of the Group's US$ 3.0m cash reserves, US$ 0.7m is in Zimbabwe and currently unrestricted.

Capital Requirements and the Restructuring Proposal

As previously announced the Board expects further funding will be required by the end of February 2020 to enable the Group to continue operating in its current form. The Directors believe, based on current financial projections and funds available and expected to be made available, that the Group will have sufficient resources to meet its operational needs until the end of March subject to forecast revenues not being impacted by any unforeseen circumstances.

To address this funding requirement the Group remains in active discussions with an investor consortium led and underwritten by Solenta Aviation Holdings Limited and other local investors in Zimbabwe (the "Investor Consortium"), in relation to the disposal of the Group's holding in fastjet Zimbabwe (the "Disposal").

The Investor Consortium is finalizing its due diligence on Fastjet Zimbabwe and securing the required regulatory approvals. The Group is also seeking to establish the extent of any outstanding contingent or other liabilities and related transactional costs which may or may not be material to the Group. The final negotiations with the Investor Consortium including the final consideration payable will be concluded once this exercise is completed. Whilst discussions with the Investor Consortium are ongoing there can be no guarantee of a successful outcome. If the Group is unable to carry out the restructuring proposal by the end of March 2020 it would be unable to continue trading as a going concern.

The Group is still evaluating the impact of the Zimbabwe Supreme Court judgement of 20 January 2020 which states that all US dollar domestic debts incurred before 22 February 2019 can be discharged using the US$:RTGS$ rate of 1:1.

A further update will be made in due course.

This announcement is released by fastjet plc and contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

For the purposes of MAR and Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1055, this announcement is being made on behalf of the Company by Kris Jaganah, Group Chief Financial Officer.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Fastjet Plc

fastjet is a multi-award winning (including Skytrax World Airline Awards Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa 2017) low-cost African airline for everyone. It began flight operations in Tanzania in November 2012, flying passengers from Dar es Salaam to just two domestic destinations - Kilimanjaro and Mwanza. Today, fastjet's route network includes operations in Zimbabwe and South Africa, together with interline arrangements with carriers such as Emirates and Qatar. The airline has flown over 3.0 million passengers with an impressive aggregate on-time performance above 90%, establishing itself as a punctual, reliable, and affordable carrier.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

This Announcement contains (or may contain) certain forward-looking statements with respect to certain of the Company's plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition and performance and which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The Company cautions readers that no forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as "aim", "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", or other words of similar meaning. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances, including, but not limited to, economic and business conditions, the effects of continued volatility in credit markets, market-related risks such as changes in the price of commodities or changes in interest rates and foreign exchange rates, the policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities, changes in legislation, the further development of standards and interpretations under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) applicable to past, current and future periods, evolving practices with regard to the interpretation and application of standards under IFRS, the outcome of pending and future litigation or regulatory investigations, the success of future explorations, acquisitions and other strategic transactions and the impact of competition. A number of these factors are beyond the Company's control. As a result, the Company's actual future results may differ materially from the plans, goals, and expectations set forth in the Company's forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made in this Announcement by or on behalf of the Company speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA), the London Stock Exchange or applicable law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement to reflect any changes in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.