Martin Gauss, CEO and Chairman of AirBaltic, expressed optimism about the airline’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, describing 2023 as a „record year” better than any time before. However, he was reluctant to speculate about the financial results for the second quarter, citing compliance with stock exchange requirements ahead of a planned bond issue. Gauss said the first half of the year figures will be „much better than what we expected” and that „AirBaltic is ahead of its own planning.”
The airline will not seek more financial support from the state but will obtain financing through issuing a bond.
„We are preparing now for listing the company at the stock exchange… It’s on the way and we intend to have the advisors and the banks hired in the Autumn and then the earliest time we can go to the stock exchange is next summer. We cannot go before that,” Gauss told LTV, „The process will take approximately one year”.
„It will be the largest IPO (Initial Public Offering) in the Baltic states as we see it now, so it will have a lot of attention internationally.”
If all goes according to plan, airBaltic would be listed on both the local Nasdaq Rīga stock exchange and an international stock exchange, though Gauss declined to specify which one.
