Airbus adds 15 billon euro credit line, scraps dividend

Airbus boosted its liquidity with a 15 billion euro ($16 billion) expanded credit facility on Monday, while suspending its 2020 outlook in response to the coronavirus crisis that has grounded much of the global airlines fleet.

The European plane maker also joined US rival Boeing in scrapping its 2019 dividend, worth a total of 1.4 billion euros. It also said it would suspend the voluntary top-up of staff pension schemes. “These measures are designed to protect the future of Airbus and to ensure we can resume normal business or future business as soon as the situation improves,” CEO Guillaume Faury told reporters.

Airbus has not drawn down any credit lines and said it had enough liquidity to cope with the coronavirus with some 30 billion euros worth of liquidity available. “We have a lot of runway with this 30 billion,” Chief Financial Officer Dominik Asam said.