Norwegian Air will need more funds as threat of insolvency looms

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA said it will need additional capital to avert insolvency after the coronavirus laid waste to the airline’s business model of discount long-haul travel, which has come to a complete standstill.

The beleaguered carrier, which reported a pre-tax loss of 4.8 billion kroner ($541 million) for the first half, said it will need additional working capital in the first quarter of 2021 to meet its obligations and will consider an additional private placement of shares as well as selling assets. That’s after the carrier already received a government-backed loan and converted debt into equity.

The pandemic has ripped through the global travel industry, forcing airlines to halt operations, lay off employees and seek financial help from governments and investors. Norwegian, which was already struggling pre-Covid 19, was forced to ground virtually its entire fleet as well as furlough or outright cut 8,000 employees, representing 80% of its workforce.

Norwegian warned of “a significant risk that the company becomes insolvent and enters into bankruptcy” should it fail to reach an agreement with creditors and gain access to working capital, as well as resuming what it called “normalized operations.”

Uncertain Times

Norwegian shares fell as much as 5.7%. They were down 4.8% to 1.18 kroner at 9:11 a.m. in Oslo and have lost 97% of their value this year, the worst performer on the 28-member Bloomberg European Travel Index

The renewed warning comes a few months after the company brokered a rescue deal in April that handed almost all of the airline’s equity to its creditors. While the accord gave the airline a much-needed lifeline, Norwegian warned at the time that it might need to seek additional funds later in the year.

“Given the current market conditions, it is not enough to get through this prolonged crisis,” Chief Executive Officer Jacob Schram said.

On Friday, Norwegian reiterated that air travel remains a “highly uncertain” activity, with governments changing recommendations frequently, Norwegian said. For now, the company has the resources to continue operations, but that could change, the carrier said.

Norwegian operated just 8 planes of its fleet of about 140 jets in the quarter ended June, flying domestic routes in Norway. The company has since doubled the number of planes in operation to 20 in July and it increase that to 25 planes next month, it said.

“Now that lessors represent the largest bloc of shareholders, NAS finds itself with too many aircraft that it does not need, including 37 long-haul jets that will see weak demand for a while,” wrote Daniel Roeska, an analyst at Bernstein in a note to clients. “Survival into 2021, in our view, remains uncertain.”