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5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 24 APRIL 2019 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA AIR Malta has insisted that its strategy to transfer the airline's landing rights to a government company is to give the State sole control of the strategic slots at all times – and not just a way of pump- ing government cash into the airline. The transfer of Air Malta's landing and take-off slots at the Heathrow and Gatwick air- ports to Malta Air Travel Lim- ited (MATL), a government company which leases the slots back to the national airline, has allowed Air Malta to receive €33 million in cash for its sum- mer slots alone in 2018. Just on the speculative value of those landing rights – €33.8 million for the summer slots only – Air Malta received a much-needed cash boost. And in the year ending March 2019 it will once again be a one-off €22.8 million boost from the London slots, this time for win- ter, that will keep the airline's finances stable, even though a loss is expected for this finan- cial year. "Through this transaction, Air Malta has realised fair val- ue of these slots, whereas the government (through MATL) acquired an asset representing a low-risk capital investment with an immediate secured return on investment for an indefinite duration and the possibility of profit through a disposal on the open market in the future," an airline spokes- person said. Air Malta's accounts for the financial year ended 2018, filed earlier last week, shows the air- line is suffering from a negative equity of €33.9 million, because its accumulated losses are €223 million and have eaten into its equity and share premium. The situation would have been worse had Air Malta not re- valued its properties that year, which gave it a €16 million boost with which to pad those losses. But the real money-spinner has been the millions of euro from the Maltese government to buy Air Malta's landing rights at London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, through MATL. "The agreement con- templates two separate trans- actions, one for the respective slots for the summer season and the other for the winter season... the summer slots were exchanged on 20 March 2018 [€33.9 million] which amount is fully reflected as a gain [in] financial year ended 31 March 2018... The winter slots were exchanged on 12 July 2018 and accordingly, after the end of the current reporting period, the company recognised [a gain of] €22.8 million for the year ending 31 March 2019," auditors noted in the financial accounts. Auditors Pricewaterhouse- Coopers noted that Air Malta as a group is forecasting losses from continuing operations in the 2019 financial year due to market and operational mat- ters. However, it is "proposed transactions" mentioned in the company's business plan that will "give rise to funding that meets liquidity requirements". Despite the triumphant note struck by the Labour govern- ment on Air Malta, its own auditors have highlighted ma- jor conditions relating to the company as a going concern: "the underlying assumption [is] that the business plan 2019- 2021 can be successfully imple- mented... and [that] the confi- dence that the government has expressed, on the basis of the legal advice obtained, that the proposed arrangements do not give rise to any form of state aid and that all restructuring actions are pursued within the framework set by the European Commission." A spokesperson for the airline last week took issue with vari- ous press reports on the finan- cial statements, claiming they were intended at undermining the airline. "The external Auditors' state- ment on page 19 paragraph one of the financial statements [says], 'During the financial year ended 31st March 2018 the Group reported operating profits from continuing op- eration prior to restructuring costs and non-recurring items amounting to 1.2 million euros [2017; operating losses from continuing operations prior to re-structuring costs and non- recurring items amounting to euros 10.8 million]'." The company ended its state- ment by showing its apprecia- tion at "the professionalism and integrity as well as the guidance of its external auditors". Air Malta Landing rights 'sale' gives government strategic control THE ballot sheet for the forth- coming European Parliament election is set to be the longest so far after a record 41 candidates submitted their nomination. The number of candidates sur- passed the previous record of 34 recorded in the 2009 EP election. Malta elects six MEPs on 25 May in the fourth election of its kind since the island joined the EU in 2004. The proportion of women candidates has not changed much over the years. Nine female candidates will have their name on the bal- lot sheet (22%) this year, three points less than 2014 when a quarter of candidates were women. There is one candidate who identifies themselves as non-bi- nary, which would bring up the proportion of non-male candi- dates to 24%. The Labour Party has 14 can- didates, five of which are wom- en. Incumbents Miriam Dalli and Alfred Sant are seeking re- election but Marlene Mizzi has called it a day. The Nationalist Party has 10 candidates, two of which are female. Incumbents Roberta Metsola, David Casa and Francis Zammit Dimech will seek re- election. The Democratic Party is field- ing four candidates, including its leader Godfrey Farrugia and Al- ternattiva Demokratika has two candidates, including chairper- son Carmel Cacopardo. Conservative outfit Alleanza Bidla is fielding two candidates. Likewise, the right-wing Patriots Movement is fielding two candi- dates. Norman Lowell, founder of Imperium Europa, is the sole candidate for his party, while entrepreneur Antoine Borg is the sole candidate of his 'party' called Brain Not Ego. The ballot sheet will also list five independent candidates that include former AD chairper- son Arnold Cassola and serial contender Nazzareno Bonnici, known as Tal-Ajkla. There are 371,625 people eli- gible to vote in the European Parliament election and this in- cludes EU nationals registered to vote in Malta. This will be the first time that people aged 16 will be allowed to vote in the EP election. European election ballot sheet will be the longest so far

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