AS states that the latest government decisions regarding “airBaltic” have caused serious concerns about the recovery of the hundreds of millions of euros invested by taxpayers, compliance with the principles of good governance and the future of the company.
As the chairman of AS Saeima faction Edgars Tavars told journalists after the meeting with Briškens on Wednesday, the faction received several answers to important questions from the minister.
“We received information that initially a version was forwarded to the Cabinet of Ministers, which did not foresee such a drastic reduction of the share capital and possible loss of taxpayers’ money,” said Tavars, at the same time indicating that a different decision was made after coordination with other ministries.
“We will definitely have questions for the Prime Minister,” emphasized Tavars.
Also, the representatives of JSC have not received a clear answer on whether the investments made by taxpayers are recoverable in any way and to any extent, Tavars said and added that the Prosecutor General will have to pay attention to this issue.
When asked if the political force plans to demand the resignation of the Minister of Transport, Tavars answered that “today’s question was not about resignation, today’s question was about the money invested by taxpayers”.
Therefore, without receiving answers about the recovery of funds, AS will turn to the prosecutor’s office with an invitation to check the legality of these decisions. AS is also preparing a draft decision of the Saeima, which would suspend the execution of the government’s decision until clear answers are received about the fate of the money invested by the society.
It has already been reported that the government agreed in the closed part of the meeting on August 30 that the state should retain at least 25% plus one share in the company’s capital after the initial public offering (IPO) of “airBaltic” shares.
While preparing for the IPO, the share capital of “airBaltic” will be reduced by 571.293 million euros, and the share structure of the existing company will be simplified. “airBaltic” share capital after the reduction will be 25.179 million euros.
“airBaltic” board chairman Klāvs Vasks noted that the amount by which the share capital of “airBaltic” will be reduced, namely EUR 571.293 million, looks large, but the amount of capital does not change the value of the company. Vasksts informed that airBaltic’s IPO wants to raise around 300 million euros.
“airBaltic” CEO Martins Gauss stated that the state has invested 526 million euros in the company in 29 years, which the society considers “taxpayers’ money”, and this is correct, but the company has paid more than 400 million euros in taxes to the state.
Brišken, on the other hand, noted that the state benefits both from paid taxes and from jobs, as well as from the provided connectivity.
“For the company, successfully issuing shares in the IPO process, we expect that, with the state also retaining a minority share, the company will be profitable and the state will continue to receive indirect benefits and financial benefit if the company works profitably,” said the minister.
It has already been reported that “airBaltic” transported a total of 4.536 million passengers last year, which is 35.7% more than in 2022, and made 44,100 flights, which is 18.3% more than the year before.
The audited turnover of “airBaltic” last year amounted to 664.289 million euros, which is 33.2% more than in 2022, and the company also made a profit of 33.852 million euros, in contrast to losses a year earlier.
The Latvian state owns 97.97% of “airBaltic” shares, while “Aircraft Leasing 1” owned by financial investor, Danish businessman Lars Tūsen – 2.03%.
2024-09-05 00:56:29