PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Norwegian burning cash!
View Single Post
Old 21st Apr 2018, 10:41
  #109 (permalink)  
Elephant and Castle
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Up high
Posts: 555
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You are all getting a bit ahead of yourselves. Norwegian has a big pile of debt, true and it is making a small loss while going through some explosive growth, true but....

It owns a whole pile of aircraft
It owns a whole load of very valuable slots at main airports
It has firm delivery slots for A320 neos, 737 MAX and 787 worth a whole pile of money (that is just the delivery slots)
It has the backing of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (who has a long term investment horizon unlike other funds)
It has just now gone through the first equity raise in 9 years which has been fully subscribed by existing shareholders. It hasn't even tapped the open market.
The existing debt, they say, is financed at low long term fixed rates
It has on the table a buyout offer from IAG

Expansion costs money. New routes take time to mature, newly hired staff take time and money to be trained and to be productive, AC cost money, etc, etc, etc The amazing thing is that they are able to carry out such explosive growth without raising more (much more ) capital. Some companies use their profits to make a dividend pay out, Norwegian is using them to grow and attain a critical size to allow the necessary economies of scale to compete. I am sure the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund is happy with that.
Elephant and Castle is offline