The chief financial officer of the airline SATA, Carla Neto, acknowledged this Monday some financial “difficulties” in the company, admitting that the financial position of the Azores carrier is “not entirely stable” and that “fresh money” is needed.
“The group is not financially stable, there will always be moments of greater or lesser difficulty, so to speak, based on what is essentially an inflow of cash combined with a significant outflow of cash,” explained Carla Neto during the hearing at the Meeting Economic Committee of the Regional Assembly of the Azores in Ponta Delgada.
The parliamentary hearing took place at the proposal of PS deputies to seek clarification on the financial situation of the Azores airline and on the operational difficulties recorded in early June, when about 70% of the SATA Air Açores fleet (responsible for inter-island flights) was temporarily grounded.
At the hearing, Socialist MP Carlos Silva recalled that SATA’s working committee had warned that the group’s “financial situation is serious and that it will have difficulty paying workers’ wages as well as paying suppliers.”
However, Carla Neto assured that she does not foresee any treasury difficulties in the near future that could make it difficult to pay salaries or taxes.
“As far as its obligations to employees and tax obligations are concerned, SATA has fulfilled its obligations,” he said.
However, the airline’s chief financial officer admitted that recently there had been “a significant increase in costs at both Azores Airlines (the airline responsible for services between the Azores and abroad) and SATA Air Açores”, but recalled that “There has also been an increase in revenue “, despite the need to inject capital into the carrier.
“We need fresh ‘cash’, let me put it this way. For us, the sale of SATA Internacional is one of the only sources of clean financing that the group can have directly,” insisted Carla Neto, referring to the privatization process of 51% of Azores Airlines, which ultimately never materialized.
According to the financial manager of the SATA group, one of the main deficits of the company, amounting to 100 million euros, is the result of the so-called “deficit routes” between Lisbon and the Azores Islands (Lisbon/Horta, Lisbon/Pico and Lisbon/Santa Maria), which are carried out as part of the Public Service Obligation (OSP) but has not been publicly funded since 2015.
“When we talk about 100 million, we are talking about an accumulated deficit, and the deficit is naturally very dependent on structural costs,” explained Carla Neto, adding that since these routes experience deficits, they ultimately have an annual financial impact negative in the company’s reporting.
Despite the justifications, PS deputies in the economics committee considered that the costs of OSP are far from the 100 million euros that the SATA administration is currently demanding.
The SATA Group CFO was heard by MPs along with José Roque, a member of the regional carrier’s board of directors, just three days after the regional government appointed Rui Coutinho, who was already serving as the company’s next president. The board will take over the position of regional director of Mobility and replace Teresa Gonçalves, who resigned in April, citing “personal reasons”.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal

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