Finnair (AY, Helsinki Vantaa) has closed its purchase of six A321-200s that it was previously leasing from Singapore-based lessor BOC Aviation, spending “in excess of” EUR200 million euros (USD219 million) on the transaction, whose “positive impact on both profit before tax and cashflow” will exceed EUR20 million (USD2.19 million) per year over the coming years, the Finnish flag carrier said in a statement released on December 19.
It has been able to make the acquisition of the Airbus narrowbodies “thanks to the strengthened balance sheet and cash funds” that resulted from the rights issue it executed last month, which brought it funding amounting to around EUR558.2 million (USD611.5 million).
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Finnair now owns seven of its fifteen A321-200s amid an 80-strong fleet, 37 of which are owned.
The majority state-owned carrier said it had also managed to repay an additional tranche of EUR120 million (USD131.4 million) of its EUR600 million (USD657.2 million) pension premium loan in December in addition to a previously planned EUR100 million (USD109.5 million) instalment. Including interest, the payoff totalled about EUR230 million (USD252 million), leaving the remaining loan amount at EUR280 million (USD307 million), which is due to be repaid by the end of May 2025.
The airline pointed out that in connection with the rights issue announcement in October, it had “supplemented its financial targets, which were based on the assumption that, for example, the company’s cash-to-sales ratio would remain at 30% over time. As a result of the aircraft purchases and the loan repayment, the cash-to-sales ratio is close to but still exceeds the target of 30%.”
