Air Antilles Liquidation: COM Estimates Its Losses at 16.3 M€
As part of the judicial liquidation of the semi-public company Air Antilles, the loss in value of the company’s assets must be estimated—a process known as asset impairment. The law requires the Collectivité to set aside provisions for these losses. This obligation was the subject of a resolution presented to the elected members of the territorial council during their plenary session on Saturday.
The issue is to estimate the risk to the Collectivité of losing the sums invested or loaned, which total 20.2 million euros since the SEM’s creation (share capital, loans, and current account advances).
The depreciation is assessed based on the nature of the assets and takes into account the proceeds from the sale of the assets (fixed assets, aircraft, etc.). These sales are organized by the court-appointed liquidator and will enable him to pay creditors, foremost among whom are the banks. According to the Collectivity’s officials, there will likely be no money left to distribute to the two shareholders once the debts have been paid. “The immediate cessation of operations makes any prospect of a liquidation surplus illusory,” they told the elected officials.
Share Capital
The Sem was established with a share capital of 2 million euros, of which 1.2 million was contributed by the COM (60%). The Collectivité will not receive any return on this contribution.
Advance to a Partner’s Current Account
The COM made an advance to a partner’s current account in the amount of 6 million euros. This amount was to be repaid by the SEM, unless the COM decided to use it for a capital increase, which it did not do. This had, however, been discussed during the debate on budgetary guidelines, following the company’s placement under judicial reorganization and the development of a business continuity plan.
Ultimately, these 6 million euros were not repaid and will not be repaid. “Advances from the shareholder’s current account are settled last, after all third-party claims. Their recovery in judicial liquidation is highly unlikely,” stated COM officials.
Loans Granted
The Collectivité has granted several loans to Air Antilles totaling 13 million euros. According to information provided on Saturday, these loans have not been repaid. Nevertheless, the COM hopes to recover 30 percent, or 3.9 million euros.
The Director General of Services (DGS) explained to elected officials that the court-appointed liquidator “is working to ensure that the COM can recover 20 to 30% of the amounts loaned.” The first assets—furniture—will be sold very soon, followed by the aircraft. The proceeds will be used to pay off bank debts first, followed by the COM’s debts. As a reminder, the total amount of debt owed to banks stood at 25.35 million euros last October, including 4.3 million in lease financing.
The total write-down on the loans amounts to 9.1 million euros. However, the COM has already set aside 1.4 million euros in provisions when the initial budget was approved (it was required to do so). It therefore still needs to set aside 7.7 million euros in provisions.
Total Amount
The estimated losses amount to 16.3 million euros for the Collectivité. Having already set aside 1.4 million euros in provisions, the Collectivité is now required to set aside an additional 14.9 million euros. This amount must be included in the supplemental budget. The DGS specified that the amount of the impairment will be adjusted as the liquidator sells the company’s assets. The resolution was adopted with 13 votes in favor, 2 against, and 3 abstentions.
Finally, when asked by Mélissa Rembotte about possible legal action, President Louis Mussington stated that “legal action will be taken against those who misled us.” However, he did not specify when or how. “It won’t be tomorrow, but perhaps the day after,” he said. “The COM’s interests will be defended,” Vice President Alain Richardson also assured.
At the start of the plenary session, Louis Mussington had spoken about the situation at Air Antilles and had notably stated that he “would rather be criticized for trying to build something than be praised for doing nothing.”
