17th Apr 2020 17:36
(Alliance News) - easyJet PLC on Friday said shareholders will get a vote on the future of its chief executive and chair at a general meeting, following calls from the budget carrier's founder to revamp its senior leadership.
Earlier in April, easyJet said it will conduct a general meeting, after Stelios Haji-Ioannou, its founder and largest shareholder, called on Chief Financial Officer Andrew Findlay and Non-Executive Director Andreas Bierwirth to be removed from the board.
On Thursday, he went a step further and called for Chair John Barton and CEO Johan Lundgren to be ousted: Lundgren for authorising an Airbus SE aircraft order and Barton for not calling for an inquiry on it.
easyJet said on Friday: "The board of directors of the company has considered the requisition notices and confirms that it intends to put these resolutions to the same general meeting it intends to call further to the requisition notices that were received by the company and announced on April 9."
Haji-Ioannou has previously lambasted easyJet's board over a GBP4.5 billion order for Airbus aircrafts.
Haji-Ioannou said on Thursday: "I have previously referred those in charge of easyJet as scoundrels. This remains my view. They made a deliberate mistake in affirming the contract between easyJet and Airbus worth at least GB4.5 billion whilst easyJet has a grounded fleet of 337 Airbus aircraft.
"Instead of serving a notice of termination to Airbus to cancel the contract they have deliberately chosen to send at least GBP2.5 billion of our cash to Airbus in the years 2020-22. At least GBP1.5 billion of our cash (of the GBP2.5 billion) is shown as going to Airbus in the next next months whilst the fleet could remain grounded."
Earlier in April, easyJet said it pushed back the deliveries of 24 aircraft until the end of financial 2022. The company earlier on Thursday said it has "no ability to terminate the contract" and would be liable to pay any future losses which the aircraft manufacturer could incur if the deal is terminated.
"If I succeed in removing the four directors at the forthcoming meetings, I expect the rest of the board to promote the chief operating officer to acting CEO to run the 'aircraft parking lot' and to serve notice of termination to Airbus. Any attempt to operate a fleet of more than 250 aircraft (down from 337 now) is bound to just burn a shed load of cash in 2021. I hope the remaining scoundrels will follow that fleet plan and cancel the order for new useless Airbus aircraft that will lose a lot of money," Haji-Ioannou added on Thursday.
The company on Thursday said it expects its interim reported pretax loss to stretch to between GBP360 million and GBP380 million from the GBP272 million it reported in the year prior.
On a headline basis however, the pretax loss for the first half is to narrow to between GBP185 million and GBP205 million, from GBP275 million.
Revenue, meanwhile, is forecast to grow 1.6% to GBP2.38 billion from GBP2.34 billion.
easyJet shares closed 8.6% higher at 638.80 pence each in London on Friday.
By Eric Cunha; [email protected]
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