Vietnam Airlines (VN, Hanoi Noi Bai International) posted a consolidated pre-tax profit for the first quarter of VND19.3 billion dong (USD823,000) on revenue of VND23.64 trillion (USD1.01 billion), double the revenue in the same period last year and the highest the flag carrier has seen since the outbreak of the pandemic, its newly announced financial statements show.
For the same period last year, the airline sustained a loss before tax that exceeded VND2.6 billion (USD111,000). The airline said that the latest results were achieved thanks to strong demand during the Lunar New Year in February, the recovery of its international markets, in particular as China loosened its travel restrictions, and a high load factor for markets such as the United States, Europe, and Australia.
Vietnam Airlines carried 5.1 million passengers during the quarter, up 63% over the same period in 2022, of whom 1.4 million travelled internationally, 11.5 times higher than the same period last year and 60.9% of the same period in 2019.
However, after taxes were deducted, the state-owned carrier still posted a loss for the January-March 2023 quarter of VND37.3 billion (USD1.6 million), and it remains saddled with around VND20 trillion (USD853 million) worth of debt. Difficulties and risks for the company for the rest of the financial year will be great, it admitted.
Vietnam Airlines said it continued to implement cost cuts as well as “solutions to increase revenue”, while lower fuel prices and a more favourable USD/VND exchange rate were also helping to improve its financial results.
Vietnam Airlines has still not published its consolidated financial statements for 2022, despite a warning from Viet Nam’s markets regulator, the State Securities Commission, last month that further delay risked punishment. These are likely to contain a third consecutive year of losses, which could trigger a delisting of the shares from the stock market.
