Russian president Vladimir Putin has endorsed an emergency plan aimed at keeping Sukhoi's civil aircraft division from defaulting on its obligations to creditors.
The rescue package involves Vnesheconombank (VEB) providing a new subsidy for Superjet 100 production. These funds, it is proposed, will be sourced from the sale of VEB's 5% Airbus stake, acquired in 2007.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has also reached an agreement with major creditors to defer credit payments until it improves liquidity and cash-flow position.
The airframer's debt stemming from borrowings to finance the Superjet 100 programme totals Rb70 billion ($2.1 billion). But Sukhoi has expressed confidence in its ability to achieve a break-even level in 2015, on revenue of $1.5 billion, and to increase sales to $2 billion by 2018.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
