Croatia Airlines expects 33.8 mln euro capital injection from govt

The government adopted a decision to grant the fresh capital at its meeting on Thursday, Croatia Airlines said in a filing to the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE).

The decision creates the necessary conditions for launching the planned recapitalisation process, the company added.

In February, the government decided to launch a procedure for selecting a strategic partner for Croatia Airlines.

It selected in April a consortium of Privredna Banka Zagreb and DVB Bank SE (part of Germany-based DZ BANK Group) to provide consultancy services for the planned recapitalisation and to help the company identify possible strategic partners.

Croatia Airlines' net loss widened to 89.4 million kuna in the first six months of 2019, from 79.6 million kuna in the like period of 2018, even though in the second quarter its net profit almost doubled year-on-year, reaching 9.1 million kuna.

The airline transported 961,000 passengers in the first six months of 2019, up 1.3% on the year.

Croatia Airlines' shares closed up 58% at 33.2 kuna on the Zagreb bourse on Wednesday. There was no trading in the shares by 1200 CET on Thursday.

The government controls a stake of almost 99% in the airline.

(1 euro = 7.40081 kuna)