Fastjet PLC Restructure Proposals (9784A)
January 27 2020 - 1:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMFJET
RNS Number : 9784A
Fastjet PLC
27 January 2020
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.
fastjet plc Tel: +27 (0) 10 070 5151
Mark Hurst, Group Interim Chief
Executive Officer
Kris Jaganah, Group Chief Financial
Officer
Liberum Capital Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 2222
Nominated Adviser and Broker
Andrew Godber
Clayton Bush
James Greenwood
William Hall
Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: +44 (0) 20 7638 9571
Financial PR
Angharad Couch
Toby Moore
Nick Hayns
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.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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