British Airways’ parent company IAG is considering a rights issue of as much as €2.75 billion (Dh11.7bn) to strengthen its balance sheet amid the coronavirus crisis that has affected airlines.
The company has yet to make a final decision on the share sale, chief financial officer Steve Gunning said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
A rights issue is an exercise in which a company grants shareholders the right to buy new shares, usually at a discount.
“A further announcement will be made as appropriate,” Mr Gunning said.
British Airways’ parent company IAG is considering a rights issue of as much as €2.75 billion (Dh11.7bn) to strengthen its balance sheet amid the coronavirus crisis that has affected airlines.
The company has yet to make a final decision on the share sale, chief financial officer Steve Gunning said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
A rights issue is an exercise in which a company grants shareholders the right to buy new shares, usually at a discount.
“A further announcement will be made as appropriate,” Mr Gunning said.
Airlines around the world are fighting for survival after the Covid-19 pandemic brought travel to a near-standstill. As passenger numbers fell this year, airlines sought government aid, restructured their business and cut costs. A recovery is expected to take years.
The Anglo-Spanish group, which also owns Aer Lingus and Iberia, did not receive state aid of the magnitude given to its rivals Deutsche Lufthansa and Air-France KLM, although it did benefit from government wage support programmes.
The markets the group depends on may be the last to recover as the pandemic hurts economies and people remain wary of long-haul travel, therefore delaying recovery in the lucrative transatlantic routes.
Meanwhile, IAG said on Friday that it had extended its global commercial partnership with credit card company American Express for an air miles deal and will receive a payment of approximately £750 million (Dh3.5bn).
The group is also cutting jobs and retiring older aircraft to reduce costs. British Airways last week retired its fleet of Boeing 747s due to the pandemic’s effect on air travel. IAG said it has a “strong balance sheet and liquidity”, pointing to cash and undrawn facilities of €10bn as of April 30.
In May, the group reported a first-quarter operating loss before exceptional items of €535m, compared to a €135m operating profit in the same period last year.
"IAG expects that its second quarter will be significantly worse than the first quarter," it said at the time.
"IAG does not expect the level of passenger demand in 2019 to recover before 2023, making further group-wide restructuring measures essential."
As a result, IAG expects to defer the delivery of 68 aircraft. The company is expected to release its second-quarter results on July 31.
IAG shares closed 4.8 per cent lower on Friday in London, extending the decline this year to 68 per cent.
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
HOW TO WATCH
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The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
Remaining Fixtures
Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Result
Crystal Palace 0 Manchester City 2
Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Fixtures
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In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The%20specs
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
