Lufthansa has repaid all remaining financial aid from the German Government, including the Silent Participation II funds from the Stabilization fund, having already repaid Silent Participation I funds in October. The Group has also canceled all remaining undrawn funds.
On Friday (November 12, 2021), Deutsche Lufthansa AG announced that they have repaid or canceled all remaining government Stabilization funds from the Federal Republic of Germany, much earlier than previously planned. With today’s announcement, the Group repaid all funds received under Silent Participation II under the Stabilization Fund, having already repaid Silent Participation I funds in October. In total, Lufthansa has repaid the entirety of €2.5 billion in Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) and €1.0 billion KfW loan financing. Additionally, the company has canceled all remaining undrawn funds. The early repayment was made possible by the rising demand for air travel, the fast transformation of the Lufthansa Group and the capital markets’ continued confidence in the company. As part of the financing arrangement, ESF will sell its approximately 14 percent stake in Deutsche Lufthansa AG by October 2023 at the latest.
In Friday’s announcement, Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, said,
“On behalf of all Lufthansa employees, I would like to thank the German government and the German taxpayers. In the most serious financial crisis in our company's history, they have given us a perspective for the future. This has enabled us to save more than 100,000 jobs. We are proud that we were able to keep our promise earlier than expected and repay the German financial aid. I would like to thank our employees for their great commitment and especially our customers who have remained loyal to us in these challenging times. Lufthansa was able to rely on Germany and Germany can rely on Lufthansa. Many challenges remain. Our ambition is to strengthen our position among the world's leading airline groups. To this end, we will consistently continue the restructuring and transformation of the company.”
Also commenting on the company’s financial achievement, Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s CFO, Remco Steenbergen, said,
“Above all, I would like to thank our investors for their trust in our company. Without them such a quick exit from the Silent Participations would not have been possible. This trust is an obligation for us to consistently continue on the path we have taken to restructure and transform the Group. We are determined to further strengthen our balance sheet, increase our profitability and generate attractive capital returns. Our financial targets published in June show this very clearly. We are convinced that we will create sustainable value for our shareholders.”
The Lufthansa Group has taken various debt and financing measures since autumn 2020 to refinance existing liabilities and the government stabilization packages. In November 2020, the company made a comeback on the capital markets with a convertible bond with a total volume of €600 million and a €1.0 billion corporate bond. In February 2021, the company once again successfully issued a bond for €1.6 billion, followed by another €1.0 billion bond in July 2021. During October 2021, the Group successfully completed a capital increase with gross proceeds totaling €2.2 billion. Finally, on November 9, 2021 the Lufthansa Group was once again successful with the further issuance of a €1.5 billion bond.
Source: Deutsche Lufthansa AG