From red / dpa
Lufthansa pays back the state aid.
Photo: dpa / Boris Roessler
In the corona crisis, several countries are saving Lufthansa from a crash with billions in aid. Now she has paid back the direct aid from the German taxpayers. However, the group is not yet completely independent.
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From red / dpa
11/12/2021 – 4:31 pm
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Frankfurt / Main – After a successful Corona rescue, Lufthansa repaid the direct German state aid. The two silent participations of the state economic stabilization fund (WSF) were redeemed with interest and terminated, as the company reported in Frankfurt on Friday. In February, the MDax group had already repaid a loan of 1 billion euros from the state-owned KfW bank. The WSF remains the largest shareholder in the group for the time being, with a good 14 percent.
State aid from Austria, Belgium and Switzerland has not yet been repaid, as a Lufthansa spokesman said on request. They had supported their domestic Lufthansa subsidiaries Austrian, Brussels Airlines and Swiss. In total, the states had granted the group an auxiliary framework of 9 billion euros during the Corona crisis, of which, however, never more than four billion euros were exhausted. Lufthansa put the German state aid used at 3.8 billion euros, including the roughly 300 million share participation.
Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr thanks
Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr thanked the federal government and taxpayers on Friday “on behalf of all Lufthansa employees” and said: “In the worst financial crisis in our company’s history, they gave us prospects for the future. We were able to save more than 100,000 jobs. ”Nonetheless, more than 30,000 jobs have been lost worldwide, and there are currently still surpluses in the domestic team.
After the state rescue operation, the company had been supplying itself with new liquidity in several steps on the capital market since November last year. In addition, a capital increase was decided in October, which brought in 2.2 billion euros. Spohr had always emphasized that he would rather be indebted to the capital market than to taxpayers. With the repayment, Lufthansa also loses its entrepreneurial shackles. Takeovers and dividend payments will be possible again, as will bonus payments to managers.
Many vacationer flights in the summer, the strong cargo business and the reopening of the US borders for Europeans had recently given Lufthansa a boost. Even if a billion-dollar loss is expected again for the year as a whole, an initial operating profit in the summer quarter was seen as a signal for a start – especially since important competitors such as the British Airways parent company IAG fared significantly worse.
Federal government welcomes the repayment
With the repayment of the silent contributions, the prerequisites have been created for the WSF to completely part with its block of shares. The sale may begin in five months at the earliest and must be completed by October 2023 at the latest, as the federal government once again confirmed. The WSF has already scaled back its stake, which it had acquired for a good 300 million euros, and sold shares on the stock exchange. After the capital increase, he still holds 14.09 percent of the share capital of the Lufthansa Group.
The federal government welcomed the quick repayment of the state aid decided in May 2020. “The crane has a lot of buoyancy again,” emphasized Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD). It was important and right that the state helped the company through the difficult times and thus secured thousands of jobs. Scholz added: “And it was good business for the state treasury – because it looks like the state will make a plus at the end of its commitment.” Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) added: “Our instruments work and provide the right incentives for one quick return to independence. “
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