Qantas Airways, the Australian carrier that became a global partner of Emirates Airline last year, has had its credit rating cut to junk in the face of intense domestic competition.
Moody’s blamed a sharp deterioration in its core business following a profit warning last month that had already led Standard and Poor’s to issue a similar downgrade.
It means Qantas is now rated Ba2 by Moody’s and BB+ by Standard and Poor’s, which will increase the cost of financing for the carrier and restrict access for some investors.
“The downgrade to Ba2 reflects a worse than expected impact on Qantas’ credit profile of a marked sharp deterioration in the company’s core domestic business, which has been a key supporting factor of its previous investment grade rating,” said Ian Lewis, a Moody’s analyst.
“As a consequence, we expect these conditions to exacerbate an already high financial leverage.”
Last year’s partnership with Emirates was widely expected to help Qantas to improve its competitive position against Virgin Australia, now majority-owned by Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand.
Under the alliance, Qantas flights to Europe stop over in Dubai rather than either Asia or London Heathrow. But the benefits of linking into the rapidly expanding global route network of Emirates were not enough to avoid a dire operational review last month when the carrier forecast a half-year loss of A$300 million (Dh978.7m) and decided to axe 1,000 jobs.
In an email to staff sent in November, the Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said that the three big airline investors in Virgin were “trying to terminally weaken Qantas”. Qantas argues that foreign ownership restrictions of 49 per cent imposed at the time of its 1995 privatisation have put it at a competitive disadvantage against Virgin Australia – and its big three backers.
It wants the government to ease the restrictions to help it to attract fresh investment or provide such investment itself.
“Whilst the issue is currently a matter of discussion and the government has not yet detailed how it plans to proceed, a form of government support would, depending on form and structure, also potentially provide support for Qantas’ liquidity position,” said Mr Lewis.
“Moody’s will observe any potential for positive credit impact when and if such counter-measures are announced and depending on the form of the support.”
scronin@thenational.ae
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
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Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
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