4th Sep 2020 08:24
(Alliance News) - Irish budget airline Ryanair Holdings PLC said Friday it has raised EUR400 million in a share placing to institutional investors.
First announced after the London market close on Thursday, Ryanair said the funds were being raised to help position the firm to "move quickly" should opportunities in the sector be thrown up.
"Post Covid-19 growth opportunities include gaining market share from peers retrenching, further European airline failures and competitive unit cost advantage over other carriers. The placing will provide Ryanair with greater financial flexibility to capture these opportunities," said Ryanair on Thursday.
The placing should also "significantly de-risk" the group's debt repayments over the next 12 months.
A total of 35.2 million shares were placed at a price of EUR11.35 each, Ryanair said on Friday morning, the price representing a 2.6% discount to Thursday's closing quote. The airline was trading 1.8% higher at EUR11.88 on Friday morning.
"Ryanair consulted with a number of its major shareholders prior to the placing and has endeavoured to respect the principles of pre-emption through the allocation process insofar as possible. The company is pleased by the strong support it has received from new and existing shareholders," the airline said.
Following admission, Ryanair will have 1.13 billion shares in issue.
Ryanair on Thursday added that 2020 has proven to be "the most challenging period in Ryanair's 35-year history", though believes it has responded well.
On Wednesday, Ryanair said traffic in August dropped by 53% to 7.0 million passengers versus the 14.9 million passengers it carried a year earlier. The carrier said it operated about 60% of its normal August schedule, with a 73% load factor.
Despite August showing sharp declines, it represented strong growth from July, when the budget airline saw passengers crater 97% to 400,000.
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
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