Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines’ recent agreement with Airbus to delay the delivery of new aircraft means the company will postpone raising $5 billion (TL 42 billion) of financing until after 2024, Murat Şeker, the airline's chief financial officer (CFO), said Thursday.
Şeker also said that the airline, which temporarily halted nearly all of its passenger flights as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, was close to a similar delivery deal with Boeing.
The agreement with Airbus, which was announced last month, will extend the aircraft delivery timeline out as far as 2028, Şeker said.
Deliveries per year will be reduced to "reasonable levels" and some may be canceled if the need arises, he said in a call with investors after third-quarter results.
Overall, the company has postponed $5 billion of financing needs for aircraft purchases until after 2024, he said.
To meet its wide-body aircraft needs, THY had placed firm orders for 50 new planes with an additional 10 optional units from both Boeing and Airbus in 2018.
The airline posted a net loss of TL 946 million in the third quarter, compared to a profit of TL 3.71 billion a year ago, it said Wednesday.
Analysts expected the company to log a net loss of TL 1.42 billion for the period in question.
According to analysts, deferred tax revenues and grant loan revenues related to increased aircraft and engine purchases were effective in the loss that was below expectations.
Iş Yatırım said in its report that one of the main factors that helped reduce the net loss was the deferred tax income, which was TL 793 million for the third quarter.
Measures restricting movement to slow the spread of the coronavirus have led to big losses, layoffs and closures at airlines around the world. One of the biggest, Germany's Lufthansa, agreed to a $10 billion government bailout in June.
Şeker also said the company had not discussed a stake sale or capital injection with the Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF).
Reuters last month reported that the fund was in talks to provide emergency funding to the flag carrier.
Şeker said flights to 200 destinations, out of a total 324, would continue in November.
