"Unfortunately, we are still in a pandemic, which has affected many countries, especially in Europe and South America, and we do not know when it will end", said Eduardo Farien Soria in Luanda, at a press conference, during which the new board of directors took stock of his first 100 days at the helm of TAAG, which have focused on cost containment, liquidity and anticipation of demand.
According to the official, the variant of the Ómicron coronavirus forced the companies to review their plans again.
"We are in a very unstable scenario and a privatization in this scenario does not seem like the best decision", he continued, saying that the company is taking the opportunity to "go on growing and making savings", so only at the end of 2023 or 2024 should it be in a position to be sold or find new partners.
"The companies are worth what we are willing to pay for them. The value of TAAG is clearly higher than the value it had when we arrived, but we are still far from entering a privatization or partnership process", he considered.
The management team's objective is to "dress the bride well" and leave the company ready for when the time comes to make appraisals.
"Now is not a good time to find an investor because many airlines are having a lot of problems, possibly in 24 months we will have a global scenario, and not just in Angola, something different. Now it is an exercise in pure survival at a global level", added Eduardo Soria.
The executive president of TAAG also addressed the issue of debt and contract renegotiation, stating that significant savings can be achieved if done with time and transparency.
The company has managed to save around 20 percent both in new contracts and in the renegotiation of previous debts, generating "significant savings", which will allow "to create an operation cost base that allows it to compete with other companies, some that are here [ Angola] operating and others that will come because TAAG has to compete in the international market", he commented.
The chairman of the company's board of directors, Ana Francisco Major, highlighted in the balance of the 100 days that the current team received TAAG "with a fragility aggravated by the pandemic", having put in place several operational changes to ensure the company's survival, and highlighting some of the results achieved, namely in terms of cash flow, which went from six to 180 days of cash.
Also in the field of improvements, he pointed out the fact that purchases that were previously relocated had been concentrated in a single area, continuing with the company's diagnosis to stop the bleeding of financial resources, since the team continues to meet every day "some surprises".
Within the restructuring process that TAAG is undergoing, work relations and the search for its own resources are also in place, so that the carrier does not depend only on State support, he added.
Asked about the value of the debt, the former executive chairman and now non-executive director Rui Carreira said that it stood at US$1.2 billion and that it was possible to reimburse part of the debt with suppliers linked to the State thanks to the reinforcement of US$700 million. of dollars injected by the Angolan State, which also allowed TAAG to have positive equity.
As for the debt with foreign suppliers, it was around 250 million dollars, remaining close to this value.
