Skymark Airlines Inc., Japan's third-largest carrier, said it's at risk of going out of business should it have to pay Airbus Group NV a penalty after the planned purchase of six A380 superjumbos fell through.
There is "material uncertainty" over whether the company will remain a going concern as it may have to pay a "large amount" as penalty, the carrier said in a statement Thursday. Tokyo-based Skymark also said it's considering halting unprofitable flights and borrowing money from financial institutions after its net loss more than tripled to ¥5.8 billion ($56 million) in the fiscal first quarter that ended in June.
The carrier said the ¥26.5 billion it paid to Airbus for the double-decker planes, more than the airline's market value, may not be returned. Shares of Skymark, whose largest shareholder is former Internet millionaire Shinichi Nishikubo, have been plunging after Airbus terminated the order for six A380s — worth $2.5 billion in list prices — this week, sacrificing the only superjumbo customer in Japan.
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