Alitalia on Friday said it had lost one third of its value in the first half of 2004, even as a long-awaited restructuring plan failed to deliver concrete targets to pull the Italian airline out of its financial crisis.
State-controlled Alitalia said in a statement it had made a EUR330 million loss in the first half of this year, equivalent to a third of its equity value.
The airline, which this month secured EU approval for a EUR400 million bridge loan, is now forced under Italian law to decide whether to seek fresh funds or restate its nominal value. That could further complicate its already delayed restructuring.
Alitalia said it had called an emergency board meeting for August 30 to decide how to proceed, after which it would approve its restructuring plan.
The company said in its statement that Chief Executive Giancarlo Cimoli "notes Alitalia is already behind its competitors in bringing to fruition a turnaround plan that will allow it to overcome its external, internal and financial weakness." The airline is 62 percent state controlled.
Under the restructuring plan -- its third attempt in the past 12 months after previous ones faced violent trade union opposition -- Alitalia pledged to make "drastic cost cuts" in goods and services acquisitions but failed to give any concrete figure.
Analysts have said the surest way to keep the company airborne would be to cut some of its staff of about 20,000 but the airline did not mention any job cuts in its statement.
Instead, Alitalia promised a strong "relaunch and strengthening" of its Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino hubs and a "reorganization and greater efficiency" of its support activities. It also aimed to become the business airline of choice in Italy and fight competition from low-cost airlines.
