o Early repayment allows SATA Air Açores to save around 18 million euros in annual financing costs: 1.2 million in 2023 and up to 17 million euros, over the next 3 years.
Today, SATA Air Açores – Sociedade Açoriana de Transportes Aéreos, S.A. ("SATA Air Açores") successfully executed the early repayment of the entire bond loan of 60 million euros, issued in December 2022.
With this early repayment, SATA Air Açores will save around 1.2 million euros in 2023 and will reduce annual financing costs over the next 3 years, which totals around 17 million euros of savings over that period.
Following the restructuring plan approved by the European Commission on June 7, 2022, and in accordance with the obligations defined by it, without evaluation from the Regional Government of the Azores, in December 2022 SATA Air Açores had to borrow 60 million euros from J.P. Morgan Societas Europaea (“J.P. Morgan”) through the issuance of 600 bonds with a nominal value of one hundred thousand euros each, maturing on December 20, 2026.
The purpose of this issuance was the early amortization of old financial debt, a process that was completed at the end of 2022, with the settlement of financing totaling approximately 40.8 million euros. The CEO of the SATA Group, Teresa Gonçalves, emphasizes that “this is a historic moment for SATA and for all employees who, on a daily basis, have contributed to the positive evolution of the business. It is a clear sign that we are making every effort to recover SATA and create the best conditions to guarantee its continuity.
“We could have chosen not to amortize this debt now, but that would mean continuing to have very significant financial costs with this financing, which, in the long run, would be truly penalizing. And if this decision reveals the effort that has been made, it is also important to be aware of the responsibility and importance that it has, requiring from each of us an increasingly greater level of rigor in everything we do in the company, with the aim of continuing to generate revenue with the highest possible efficiency", concludes Teresa Gonçalves.
This represents yet another step taken by SATA Air Açores on the path to consolidating its accounts and reducing its debt.