Air France Klm Stock Price, News & Analysis

Air France-KLM (AFLYY) has announced its 2024 share buyback program, authorized by shareholders on June 5, 2024. The program allows the company to acquire up to 10% of its share capital, with a maximum of 26,259,634 shares available for purchase at a price not exceeding €40 per share. Key objectives include:

1. Canceling shares to reduce capital
2. Coordinating stock liquidity
3. Allocating shares for securities conversion
4. Distributing shares to employees and corporate officers
5. Using shares for payment in external growth transactions

The program will run for 18 months from the authorization date. This initiative demonstrates Air France-KLM's commitment to enhancing shareholder value and optimizing its capital structure.

Air France-KLM has released its financial statements and accompanying notes for the period ending June 30, 2024. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the company's financial position, including detailed information on assets, liabilities, income, and cash flows. While specific figures are not provided in the press release, the document likely contains important data on revenue, operating costs, net income, and other key financial metrics that are essential for investors and analysts to assess the airline group's performance.

The release of these financial statements is a standard practice for publicly traded companies, allowing stakeholders to evaluate the company's financial health and make informed decisions. For Air France-KLM, this report may offer insights into how the airline has navigated recent industry challenges and its strategic positioning in the competitive aviation market.

Air France-KLM reported a second-quarter 2024 operating result of €513 million, with a 6.5% operating margin. The group capacity increased by 4.1% year-over-year and the load factor remained stable at 88%. Group revenues rose by 4.3% to €7.9 billion. However, the operating result decreased by €220 million compared to last year, primarily due to rising unit costs and higher fuel prices. The net income was €165 million, down from €612 million in Q2 2023. Despite challenges, the company maintained positive cash flow at €134 million and reported cash at hand of €9.6 billion.

The Group experienced certain impacts due to the Olympic Games and rising fuel and salary costs. For the full year 2024, the unit cost is expected to rise by 2%. The net debt/EBITDA ratio increased to 1.6x. Key measures include a hiring freeze and additional cost cuts to navigate the challenging environment.

Air France-KLM and Air France have successfully renegotiated their Sustainability Linked Revolving Credit Facility, increasing it to €1.4 billion and extending its maturity to July 2028. Key improvements include:

• Maturity extended to July 2028 with a one-year extension option
• Increase from €1,290m to €1,405m
• Expanded lenders' pool from 16 to 17 banks
• Optimized financial conditions

This undrawn facility enhances the Group's liquidity management. KLM's separate €1.0 billion ESG-linked facility remains unchanged. The total Group Revolving Credit Facilities now amount to €2.4 billion, up from €2.3 billion previously, demonstrating strong confidence in the Group's financial stability.

Air France-KLM announced that the European Commission has reaffirmed the compliance of liquidity support measures provided during the Covid-19 crisis with EU State aid rules. These measures, which included State guaranteed loans and State loans from the French and Dutch governments, were fully repaid by June 2022 and April 2023, respectively. This decision does not affect the ongoing appeals in the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding previous judgments by the General Court of the EU, which annulled the initial decisions due to an incorrect determination of the aid beneficiary.

The press release provides an update on the total number of voting rights and shares for the company as of June 30, 2024, in accordance with French market regulations.

As of this date, the company reported having 262,769,869 shares outstanding.

The total number of theoretical voting rights, which include double voting rights, amounted to 360,723,054.

Air France-KLM and Transavia France are facing pressure on projected unit revenues for the summer season due to the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. Traffic to and from Paris is lagging behind other European cities, with international markets avoiding the city and residents postponing their holidays. This has led to an estimated negative impact on unit revenues of €160m - €180m for June-August 2024. Despite this, the company has not adjusted its guided capacity. Demand is expected to normalize after the Olympics, with encouraging projections for late August and September.

The press release announces the updated total number of voting rights and shares for AFLYY as of May 31, 2024. The company reports 262,769,869 shares and a theoretical total of 290,243,169 voting rights. The theoretical voting rights include all voting rights, such as double voting rights.

On May 22, 2024, Air France-KLM announced the final results of its tender offer for two series of existing notes. The offer, launched on May 13, 2024, targeted €750 million in 1.875% notes due January 16, 2025, and €500 million in 3.875% notes due July 1, 2026. A total of €452.7 million, representing 36.2% of the outstanding notes, were tendered and accepted for purchase. After the completion of the tender offer, €515.2 million in 2025 notes and €282.1 million in 2026 notes will remain outstanding. The tender offer was funded by the issuance of €650 million in new notes with a 5-year maturity and a 4.625% annual coupon. This move is part of the company's strategy to manage its debt profile and extend its average maturity. The new notes are issued under Air France-KLM's €4.5 billion Euro Medium Term Note Programme.