The Qantas Group has completed a new round of debt funding, securing AU$1.05 billion in additional liquidity to strengthen its position as it manages through the coronavirus outbreak.
This debt has been secured against part of the Group’s fleet of unencumbered aircraft, which were bought with cash in recent years. The loan has a tenure of up to ten-years at an interest rate of 2.75%.
This funding increases the Group’s available cash balance to AU$2.95 billion with an additional AU$1 billion undrawn facility remaining available.
The Group’s net debt position remains at the low end of its target range, at AU$5.1 billion, with no major debt maturities until June 2021. In line with the rest of the Qantas debt book, the new funding contains no financial covenants.
With a further AU$3.5 billion in unencumbered assets, the Qantas Group retains flexibility to increase its cash balance as a prudent measure in the current climate. As previously announced, various steps have been taken to significantly reduce activity levels and costs given the dramatic revenue impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the related travel restrictions on Jetstar and Qantas passenger services. (US$1.00 = AU$1.68 at time of publication.)
