22nd Dec 2005 07:01
easyJet PLC22 December 2005 Thursday, 22nd December 2005 easyJet exercises options over further 20 Airbus A319 aircraft Under the conditional agreement, dated 30 December 2002, and made betweeneasyJet plc and Airbus G.I.E. (the "Airbus Contract"), the Company agreed topurchase 120 new Airbus A319 aircraft and was granted the right to purchase, atthe same basic price, up to 120 additional Airbus A319 aircraft, subject tocertain conditions. The agreement was approved by easyJet's shareholders at anExtraordinary General Meeting on 12 March 2003. To date, Airbus has delivered 59 A319 aircraft and a further 61 aircraft areexpected to be delivered between now and 2008. easyJet today announces that it has exercised its right under the AdditionalPurchase Rights granted to it pursuant to the Airbus Contract to acquire afurther 20 A319 aircraft for delivery during 2008 and 2009 to ensure itscontinued growth to the end of the decade. The terms for the purchase of these 20 aircraft, including the basic price,certain purchase incentives and credits made available and the terms of paymentare substantially the same as those for the purchase of the first 120 aircraftunder the Airbus Contract, which were described in the circular to shareholdersdated 24 February 2003. As confirmed in the circular, under the Airbus Contractthe aircraft basic price of each A319 aircraft, as at January 2001 being thedate by reference to which the contractual base price is quoted, wasapproximately US$44.2 million. Thus the total list price for 20 new A319aircraft would be approximately US$0.9 billion. However, under the AirbusContract easyJet was granted substantial price concessions by Airbus and theselected engine manufacturer - all prices above are subject to price escalationwhich reflects inflation. easyJet presently finances its fleet through a mix of bank lending, secured onthe relevant aircraft which are owned by easyJet, and sale and lease backtransactions. easyJet has entered into financing commitments in relation to the majority ofits 61 undelivered aircraft, but none of the 20 aircraft announced under today'sarrangement. The Company intends to retain flexibility in determining the methodof financing these additional aircraft but expects that it will use a number ofsources of debt finance and other financial structures in addition to easyJet'sinternal resources and cashflow. The additional aircraft will enable easyJet to continue its planned expansionthrough 2008 and into 2009 which will enable it to maintain its position as oneof the leading European low cost operators. Andrew Harrison, easyJet Chief Executive, said: "Our original agreement with Airbus for up to 240 A319s was a great deal for ourshareholders and customers which underpins our low cost base and our continuedability to offer low fares to our 30 million customers. "Today's announcement for a further tranche of 20 aircraft marks another step ineasyJet's continuing development as Europe's best low-fares airline." ENDS For further details please contact: easyJet plc Analysts:Andrew Barker, Investor Relations +44 (0) 1582 525 274 Press:Toby Nicol, Corporate Communications +44 (0) 1582 525 339 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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