Air Serbia has settled all of its remaining obligations towards the Etihad Airways Partners I BV funding vehicle to the amount of 57.62 million US dollars on the basis of a long-term loan taken out in 2015, which matured yesterday. In a statement, the carrier said, “The Serbian national airline expresses great satisfaction with the fact that it managed to provide the funds for the payment of liabilities independently, thanks to responsibly running its business before the coronavirus pandemic, as well as extensive austerity measures at all levels during the greatest crisis in the history of civil aviation, resulting from the pandemic”. It added, “Despite these circumstances and the fact that it could not operate commercial passenger flights from mid-March to the second half of May, the company has continued to regularly settle all of its obligations towards creditors and suppliers at home and abroad. On the other hand, the fact is that the situation is still very complex and that air traffic in Europe and the world is recovering much more slowly than expected. This is why Air Serbia will continue engaging in active talks with its strategic partners, including creditors and strategic suppliers, in good faith that a solution acceptable to all can be reached through negotiations”.
This June, Air Serbia informed the funding vehicle that due to the financial strain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic it may not be able to meet its obligations and payments. It proposed revised amounts and loan repayment deadlines, which were ultimately rejected by the creditor. "The payment of this loan is proof of sound and responsible management of Air Serbia before and during the crisis, and during the recovery from the consequences of the pandemic. The Serbian national airline will remain committed to the interests of its shareholders, employees and passengers and will take all measures necessary to protect the company and ensure its successful development. During the suspension of commercial traffic, Air Serbia started a series of programs aimed at working with business partners, implementing austerity measures and maintaining liquidity, as well as improving business processes and services for our passengers. All these programs will continue to be delivered”, the company’s CEO, Duncan Naysmith, said. He added, "I thank all partners, competent institutions and employees for their cooperation in the remedial actions from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, and that community cooperation is crucial, as we are stronger together".
Air Serbia has said that by taking out the loan in 2015, it was able to restructure its business, which has resulted in record results over the past few years. “After the restructuring, which was possible thanks to the funds from this loan as well, the company recorded its biggest expansion last year, in 2019, carrying a record 2.81 million passengers and flying to as many as 23 new destinations in just one year and launching operations from two new airports in Serbia - Niš and Kraljevo. During the first months of 2020, Air Serbia continued to grow, so in January and February, the number of passengers carried increased more than 20%, year over year. After resuming flights on May 21 this year, the company remained focused on gradually increasing frequencies where possible, while safeguarding the health of passengers and employees”.
Air Serbia took out a second loan, amounting to 63 million dollars, with Etihad Airways Partners II BV on May 20, 2016, which matures in June of next year. Five years ago, Air Serbia’s part-owner Etihad embarked on an international roadshow, supported by lead advisor Goldman Sachs and UAE-based ADS Securities and Anoa Capital, by creating the funding vehicles. The group successfully raised 700 million dollars which were split across the seven Etihad Partners entities at the time, including Air Serbia, for a mixture of capital expenditure and investment in fleet, as well as for refinancing. The funding vehicles comprise largely of international investment funds.
It seems like they want to get rid of Etihad ASAP.
ReplyDeleteHuh?? How did you conclude that??
DeleteThey got rid of an unfavorable loan which is great. Luckily EY is out of the picture so similar mishaps won't happen.
DeleteI don't see how them repaying the loan means they want to get rid of Etihad ASAP?
Deletei see it the other way: Etihad wants to get rid of its partners
DeleteDoes Etihad even know what it wants?
DeleteI see that Etihad Airways and Etihad Airways Partners II BV have nothing in common.
DeleteYes people should realize that Etihad Partners BV and Etihad Airways are not affiliated in any way. In fact Etihad Partners is suing Etihad for millions.
Deletekoji cirkus
DeletePlaying old loans by getting new ones.
DeletePeople can say many things about Air Serbia but one thing is certain: they do navigate these stormy waters rather well.
ReplyDeleteThey carry a lot of baggage from the past but even with it all they still manage to be proactive, engaging and reliable.
And to open new routes, to maintain and increase frequency on already existing routes (despite Serbian citizens can't enter EU) and make success of JFK!
DeleteOslo is a great example of that. LCA as well. Look how long it took Wizz to respond by adding two extra flights in two weeks while JU boosted it to four weekly right away. They are a fighter and that's why they have a future.
DeleteFully agree. Even IST is daily now.
DeleteNot only it is daily but many flights are on the A320. If the number of Turkish tourists keeps on growing it would be great if they introduced at least a one weekly flight in the evening or morning. Maybe a Sunday afternoon departure from Belgrade. That could be a very popular option for many.
DeleteAs for LCA, that was a brilliant move on their behalf. You have many ads around Belgrade for a holiday in Cyprus. I think many that went by plane to Greece might switch to Cyprus for summer 2021. Will be interesting to see how things develop in this regard.
Are JU daily flights to IST maximum because of bilateral agreement?
DeleteOr they can fly twice a day if there is a demand?
Reciprocity so they can fly up to 17 weekly
DeleteThanks for quick answer! Have a nice day!
DeleteJU charters to Antalya don't count in bilateral?
DeleteWith the TK codeshare that is recently signed; JU can benefit almost 400 destinations from IST and fill two daily flights easily.
Charters are excluded from any limitations so even TK can run double daily B77W flights from AYT for example. JU dominates this market because point of sale is in Serbia where they know all the agencies and they have a long-lasting relationship with them.
DeleteWhen do you all think we will see Air Serbia resume flights to AD. I think the quarantine requirements, no judgement intended, will place a dampener on passenger demand. Any thoughts as I need to travel to Belgrade by around 23/24 Oct.
DeleteWhat is AD?
DeleteI think its Abu Dhabi
DeleteAir Serbia has not been flying to Abu Dhabi for years. Etihad flies to Belgrade from Abu Dhabu and they resumed flights months ago.
DeleteRecent boost in travel demand will certainly help them.
ReplyDeleteAs well as longer charter season.
DeleteA charter season should not exist .
DeleteCharters should be year round .
=> they got the money from the state
ReplyDeletetheir P&R can say what they want. as if we didnt know
LOOOOL
DeleteSource?
DeleteAccording to the government, they did not:
Delete"Srbija će uvek stajati uz svoju nacionalnu avio-kompaniju, a ukoliko bude bilo potrebe, pružićemo joj neophodnu pomoć. Ipak, drago mi je što su obaveze po osnovu ovog kredita uspeli da izmire samostalno“, rekao je Mali.
https://www.danas.rs/ekonomija/mali-er-srbija-samostalno-izmirila-obaveze-prema-kreditoru-potvrda-odgovornog-upravljanja/
Delete@9.19 https://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/08/air-serbia-registers-95-million-profit.html
Deletecalculator says nay
Why we would belive him?
DeleteWhat if EY as the owner of 49% of the company paid the half? Where would you see that in your calculation?
DeleteWell done Air Serbia!
ReplyDeletewhere suddenly this money and in the middle of the pandemic?
ReplyDeleteif a profitbale airline like Lufthansa burns 500 millions a month at the moment i dont even want to know what our 3 ex-yu airlines (who were never profitable) are doing
Well Lufthansa can't really be compared to ex-YU airlines because their exposure to the crisis is much greater. Then you have to factor in overall costs, operating a split hub and so on. A large share of Lufthansa's profits came from transfer passengers traveling between MENA and the US, a market that was virtually annihilated by Trump. That's something JU will profit from as JFK will now become a great additional source of cash. After all we read yesterday that they are boosting October flying from 2 weekly last year to 5 this year. It's easier to manage a smaller business than a massive one like Lufthansa.
Deletep.s. don't forget that on top of their domestic issues, LH has OS, SN and EW to deal with.
OS is dead man walking.
DeleteOS started introducing triangular flights due to low demand.
DeleteThere is no info on how they suddenly got 57 mil to repay the debt. Is it from a new loan, if yes, then what are its details?
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe that during corona times they managed to scrape up so much without selling something or getting a different loan, or even getting money from state as was planned.
“The Serbian national airline expresses great satisfaction with the fact that it managed to provide the funds for the payment of liabilities independently, thanks to responsibly running its business before the coronavirus pandemic, as well as extensive austerity measures at all levels during the greatest crisis in the history of civil aviation, resulting from the pandemic”.
DeleteFor people saying how the state paid for this, they didn't at least according to the finance Minister. He said last night how the government is prepared to offer aid to Air Serbia but he is glad in this instance that JU paid the sum on its own.
ReplyDeletecome on. they get subsidies every year. its not a secret. sure it will be part of the state aid later
DeleteWhy not mention that subsidies are going down and that they are not the biggest recipient of it. After all, what's €19 million for a government? Peanuts.
DeleteAw, ok... when the minister says so (the 1 who plagiarized his Ph.D btw.) then it must be true.
DeleteAw, ok... when an Anonymous on a website says so then it must be true.
DeleteHe's a minister at least, who are you for your opinion to be more valid than his?
DeleteWell I guess some people's dreams of them going bankrupt have been shattered today.
ReplyDeleteWhy are you so cruel?
DeleteWho ever wanted to them going bankrupt?
DeleteJust look around
DeleteRail system receives up to 400 millions USD per year, and no one is complaining...
DeleteOh Come on!!! Who do they think they are kidding? The money was given to them by the government specifically from you and me! No I don't have a source but someone can't hide behind his finger!
ReplyDeleteWell the government denies they gave the money. Maybe Etihad did since it was said in the last few weeks that they were in talks with Etihad, or maybe they actually have reserves.
DeleteBel Cielo if you don't have a source then how can you make such atrocious claims? JU has been rebuilding its network for two, three months now. Cash has been on the rise so they probably used their reserves from pre-pandemic levels. Remember the massive growth they had back then? More passengers means more income.
Deleteahaha "cash has been on the rise" during a time where nobody earns money in aviation in the world
DeleteAre you aware that JU has been hosting flights since July. In August alone they operated 8% more. Also he didn't say they were making money but that cash income has been increasing.
DeleteIf the Government paid the money ==> people complain
ReplyDeleteIf the Government did not pay the money ==> people complain
Welcome to Serbia
lol (its like that in the rest of exyu as well believe me)
Deletepaying at the last minute. just saying
ReplyDeleteOf course. They first tried to renegotiate and decrease the repayment sum. Normal.
DeleteMany creditors and banks have penalties for early payments so nothing strange about them paying the last minute.
Deletefor early payings? penalties??
DeleteYes.
DeleteApparntly they were collecting money for this payment for the past few years. So, no, the money was not pumped into JU one day and they repaid the loan the next day. They knew when the loan will mature and they were obviously collecting that sum way before corona.
ReplyDeletefunny:
ReplyDeleteaccording https://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/08/air-serbia-registers-95-million-profit.html
JU has generated a "profit" of 44 mio for the last 7 years but now have suddenly 58mio in the midst of a pandemic where they have lost millions like any other airline.
Who are they kidding seriosly? :D
theoretically, it is possible
Deleteamortization/depreciation is a non-cash item
but in reality, since it is a fake profit, you are correct
For Petar Čelik everything is fake about AS. Why do you hate them soo much ? They have enough cash from cargo alone. There is no reason for gouvermant of Serbia to hide any financial aid for JU as they got open hands to do so. Not sure why people on here think that 50 mil is soo much money ?
Deletecargo?
Deletehahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaa
"Not sure why people on here think that 50 mil is soo much money ?"
DeletePetar where does it say Air Serbia actually paid 50 mil (57.6 to be exact)? It does not say that.
DeleteIf you had any business smarts, you would realize they settled loan obligations, not paid $50 mil. They could have negotiated settlment for 60% or 40% off or some other percentage. Excluding amount they already paid over time (likely interest charges) they could have ended this obligation for a fairly small amount.
@anon 16:07
DeletePlease don't feed the troll
Anon@16:13 Nonsense, PV as always started trolling against Air Serbia on his own. My comment is taking away his feed.
DeleteTypo, PČ, Petar Čelik.
Deletei stand corrected. the "settled" means that they paid obligation with pink panther kinder surprise toys which are very much valued on the collectors market
Delete======================================
Air Serbia has settled all of its remaining obligations towards the Etihad Airways Partners I BV funding vehicle to the amount of 57.62 million US dollars
According to 2019 financial statement they had ~35mil USD in cash, as far as can see...am I reading this correctly?
DeleteNice save with kinder toys. You should win thunderbolt cable for the funniest comment today.
DeleteSeems some people are seriously triggered. Which is such a shame. Shouldn't people be happy that our airlines in the region are somehow surviving this crisis. What would you rather? Everyone go bankrupt and lose their jobs?
ReplyDeleteno. you dont understand why people are triggered. If they honestly said "We are helping our airline in these (hard) times" nobody would be trigerred (except the dezurni hejteri). Its that hillarious statement by Sinisa Mali ... "med i mleko"
DeleteIt's just funny that people outside of Serbia are triggered by what Sinisa Mali says. Why do you care so much? If he came out and said "We paid for everything" (which we don't actually know) you would scream how it's unfair, that they should go bankrupt, that they are a failed airline etc.
DeleteIt is an ex-yu blog and when the topic is JU then, at least according to the comment guidelines, readers from outside of Serbia are allowed to comment,just as readers from Serbia are allowed to comment on news about aviation in other ex-yu countries.
DeleteAnon 09.40
DeleteNo in that case people would start complaining about their taxes being spent, how JU is a massive failure and so on. No matter what the government does or says there will be a part of (probably non Serbian public) to come here and complain.
What matters is that JU is growing and expanding.
Why do you think readers outside Serbia are only who dont belive to Sinisa Mali and are only ones who call JU unprofitabile airline? Many people who pay taxes here are concerned about their money and their national carrier.
DeleteMany people? I doubt it, very few even know JU is a profitable airline.
DeleteSo they don't have to be concerned at least about this payment.
DeleteJU profitabile? With 9.5 million profit and 19.7 million aid? Doesnt seems to me as profitabile? And I hope you know that Serbia is not so small country for european standards and it is home to more then 7 million people. Not everyone is sharing the same oppinion as you towards JU, but and to other problems in this country as politics, public transport, etc.
DeleteLast Anon, you always come with the same nonsense. At the end of the day JU is a profitable airline that's not going anywhere. Maybe it's time to make peace with that?
DeleteI always came with facts you always come with your non-understanding of finances and your love towards Air Serbia. I know you because you are always pretending that facts do not exist and defending your love.
DeleteWhat "facts" have you come with?
DeleteHmm probably with these which you dont want to see...... and you know very good what i am talking about.
DeleteWell, I will start with your "fact" that Serbia has over 7 million people, which is incorrect. Next.
DeleteSome people on here won't be happy until JU is shut down.
DeleteAnon 11:59
DeleteReally? You found that in aviation converstation? Whats next , "oppinion" is incorrect while opinion is correct? I you are going be so happy, you and me together are going to pretend that JUs operationing system is profitabile. And we will destroy everyone using a "fact" that JU makes money. Are you happier now?
*if
DeleteNo, but transparency please. As the conditions of the first loans were ripp-off with high interest rates and pre payments to the creditors and we learned about it through investigative Journalismus, the repayment method remains in the dark. Since ASL is public, the public and the tax payers should have the the right to know.
ReplyDeleteInvestigative journalism? The terms of the loan are public since 2015 and published on the London Stock Exchange page of Etihad Partners BV. In fact they were published even here 5 years ago. The difference is you noticed that only recently.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJU must have stellar results in 2020 when is able to finance this
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you are not happy with it
Deleteprobably the only profitable airline in the world during corona. *sarcasm off
DeleteJust because they managed to pay this doesn't mean they are profitable it just means they had enough cash at hand to pay for this.
Delete*they were given cash
Delete...not
DeleteThis is fantastic news!
ReplyDeleteSince they seem to have the cash, they should really revert the A330 livery to the one in the picture.
ReplyDeleteTo all fanboys and haters!
ReplyDelete1. JU says that they secured money for loan repayment INDEPENDENTLY. Just that. Public statements (not only by JU) may be deliberately unclear, but they are rarely untrue. You just need to read them carefully. In this case it does not need to be positive cashflow generated by JU. Most probably it is just money borrowed from a bank. It is pretty normal that companies refinance their debts with other financiers, so no need to throw accusations here. Another point is whether the state somehow helped with that new bank loan by provided some repayment guarantees. It boils down to the point what is meant by this "independence".
2. JU is in a better position than many other legacies now, because business model of those other legacies concentrated around long-haul plus business travel. These market segments were hit most hard and will take more time to come back. At the same time JU concentrated more on vfr travel in Europe, with a particular emphasis on people from ex-Yu working in Western Europe. Those people did not vanish and they continue to travel despite travel restrictions. Given that they have residency permits in Western Europe, in reality not so many restrictions impact on their travel, as seen by JU continuing to fly to some places despite travel bans etc. At the same time many other legacies stopped or limited their flying to ex-Ju, because they cannot count on long-haul or business travelers from ex-Yu to the extent that would make their flights to ex-Yu, if not profitable, at least loss-making to an acceptable level. These competitors have always been taking away from JU also some of those vfr travellers (as mentioned, not that those legacies where aiming at this group of travellers, but these travellers helped to fill up the plane and get those airlines some additional money, whatever they paid). Importantly, those competitors were putting pricing pressure on JU in the vfr segment (because in fact they didn't care so much about pricing in this segment, treating those travellers as an extra income). Now, as these competitors are gone, even as the overall market decreased materially, JU has it more or less for itself and that must impact positively on their frequences and loads, so on the financial result and cashlow.
A still different story with JFK.
Let's just be clear, YU said they wouldn't be able to meet the creditors demand fully, the word FULLY is important.
ReplyDeleteIt could mean they 10.000.000 or they had 50.000.000 set aside for the loan.
They probably can just leave some expenses for later since it's clear that government will back them up.
The next part of the loan is the one to watch.
That's incorrect. Just read the first sentence:
Delete"Air Serbia has settled all of its remaining obligations towards the Etihad Airways Partners I BV funding vehicle to the amount of 57.62 million US dollars"
ALL of it. Not 10.
Apparently they refinanced the credit by another credit backed (guaranteed) by the government. So,
ReplyDeletethe info not is true but does not say the whole truth.
But your info is true of course.
Deleteinfo note*
DeleteAnon above, no, they got the money from operational cash flows lol
Great job Air Serbia! If it wasnt for Covid19, this year would be marking a new era of expansion towards respectable southeastern European airline. The only flag carrier from West Balkans that will live for many years to come. If it was my tax money, its money well spend!
ReplyDeleteAnd some will die despite making less losses then JU?
DeleteIt's not about how much you lose but what your prospects are. For example take OU as an example, their fate is directly tied to LH Group which is struggling big time at the moment. What would OU do if it loses the support they get from them? They wouldn't be able to survive their first winter since flying to Star hubs makes up most of their business.
DeleteBut that doesnt mean OU will die, while JU will be alive.
DeleteOU doesn't have a visionary management, current one doesn't know what it wants and how it wants to proceed. That's why they are doomed.
DeleteIn current capitalist free market is not problem to have "visionary mznagment", it is problem to have managment which makes money. Only on that way airline is going to survive on longer term.
DeleteFor ex-YU, a small and relatively poor region of Europe, the best solution would be to stick to JU and W6. One would focus on transfers while the other would handle gasto traffic. Unfortunately national pride prevents this from happening which is a shame.
ReplyDeleteCroatia should get rid off their un profitabile national carrier and stick to serbian national carrier? 0 logic in your plans.
Delete*unprofitabile serbian national carrier.
Deletehttps://techxplore.com/news/2020-09-treasury-loan-airlines-crisis.html Sve jaki finansijski seksperti moj do moga.
DeleteYou make it sound as if OU is some important and big player. It's sole purpose it to keep the LH machine alive, that's all.
DeleteAt least JU on the other hand expands and grows and from that not only Serbia but the whole region profits. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, in the end we are going to end up with only JU and W6.
We are definitly not going to end with Wizz, at least not in Croatia for sure. I definitly didnt make OU some important player, but from from your comment it seems that it is because "OU is keeping LH alive". On the other side i dont know why you think all of region profits from JU while from other airlines (LH, AF,KL) we not. Having JU with hub in BEG as national carrier for the ex yu is no different position then having LH Group with its bases in VIE, ZRH, MUC, FRA.
Delete