Vietnam Airlines suffers accumulated losses of US$963.2 million

Vietnam Airlines has accumulated losses of nearly VND22 trillion (US$963 million) after three years of struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic impacts.

The airline was struggling with the Covid-19 impacts for the past three years. Photo: The Hanoi Times

The figures were announced by the national flag carrier in its financial statement for the fourth quarter and 2021.

The findings, however, also shed some positive light as the airline’s revenue in the fourth quarter rose by VND1 trillion ($43.8 million) year-on-year to over VND9.2 trillion ($403 million).

This resulted in total revenue of VND28 trillion ($1.2 billion), down 31% year on year. As such, Vietnam Airlines posted a net loss of VND1.2 trillion ($52.5 million) in the fourth quarter and VND13.3 trillion ($582.3 million) for the whole year.

The Government is currently Vietnam Airlines’ largest shareholder, holding 86.19% stake via the Commission for State Capital Management (CSCM), followed by government-investment arm State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) (31.14%), and Japanese aviation company ANA Holdings (5.62%).

SCIC became a major shareholder of the national flag carrier after forking out VND6.89 trillion ($300 million) to acquire a 31.08% stake, which is part of a resolution passed by the National Assembly (NA) last year that allows the Government to bail out the airline with a rescue package worth VND12 trillion ($522 million).

As of December 31, Vietnam Airlines’ total assets stood at over VND63 trillion ($2.75 billion), and short-term debts of VND14.3 trillion ($626 million), up to VND3 trillion ($131.3 million) from the beginning of the year.

As the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind in Vietnam, the airline is planning to resume international flights in the first half of 2022.

The move is set to bring opportunities for the air carrier's recovery after suffering severe economic consequences from the pandemic.