The EU Commission has approved the hybrid loan by the State of Finland to Finnair

Finnair Plc                  Stock Exchange Release                 17 March 2021 at 2.30 p.m. EET 

Finnair and the State of Finland have today signed an agreement on a hybrid loan of maximum 400 million euros to support Finnair. The decision was made by the Plenary Session of the Government on February 18, 2021. The arrangement has the approval of the EU Commission’s competition authority in line with the European Union’s state aid rules. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to travel restrictions which have caused severe losses to Finnair, which has been taken into account in the interest rate of the hybrid loan.

Of the credit limit, approximately 350 million euros can be used by Finnair based on the state aid decision made by the Commission on 12 March 2021. Finnair is able to access the funds, if its cash or equity position would drop below the limits to be defined in the facility’s terms and conditions.  The remaining approximately 50-million-euro share will be brought to approval by the Commission at a later stage.

Finnair’s equity was 896.6 million euros at the end of year 2020 and cash reserves were 823.7 million euros.

“Through comprehensive and timely financing actions we have sought to secure a clear path for Finnair out of the pandemic. We are grateful for this important support by the State owner. The now approved hybrid loan is an important step in ensuring financial stability of Finnair even in a situation where the traffic recovery would start later than expected”, says Finnair CEO Topi Manner. “We continue to work to enhance our cost structure and secure our competitiveness, in order to be able to implement our strategy in the post pandemic, highly competitive market.”

FINNAIR PLC

Further information:
Finnair communications, 358 9 818 4020, comms@finnair.com

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Finnair is a modern premium network airline, specialising in passenger and cargo traffic between Asia and Europe. Helsinki’s geographical location gives Finnair a competitive advantage, since the fastest connections between many European destinations and Asian megacities fly over Finland. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do –  Finnair intends to reduce its net emissions by 50% by the end of 2025 from the 2019 baseline and achieve carbon neutrality latest by the end of 2045. Finnair is a member of the oneworld alliance. Finnair Plc’s shares are quoted on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.