SAA CEO has said the airline needs a R5 billion capital injection to make ends meet and settle debt.
Addressing parliament, South African Airways (SAA) CEO Vuyani Jarana said the airline needs urgent access to capital to sustain operations, and that it was in discussions with Treasury, as well as the banks, to open a credit line.
According to Jarana, SAA needs some R5 billion this year alone to pay down debts and for operational costs. Moreover, SAA will need to repay bank debts of R9.2 billion by March next year – a figure which the CEO said could well increase. The airline has not generated a profit since 2011 and has already received state guarantees totalling some R20 billion.
Jarana said:
“Over the next six months we will need… in the range of R5 billion to make sure we can support the working capital.”
According to Reuters, National Treasury has said that SAA needs an equity partner to pump money into the company to not only address the liquidity crisis, but also to help with the implementation of a turnaround plan.
Pictured: SAA interim CFO, Bob Head
