After decades SriLankan breaks even in FY23 and achieves $ 3 m profit

SriLankan Airlines has achieved a break-even for the first time in over a decade and posted a net profit of $ 3 million, the national carrier revealed yesterday.

In a statement, SriLankan Airlines said during the recently completed fiscal year, the airline generated a passenger and cargo revenue of $ 994 million and an operating profit of $ 53 million.  The operating profit at group level was $ 104 million. The group, however, incurred financing costs of $ 101 million, resulting in a profit of $ 3 million.

“These figures may vary slightly during the finalisation of year-end accounts, but essentially the airline has broken even for the first time in over a decade,” SriLankan Airlines said.

These provisional figures were also revealed during a recent COPE meeting on the national carrier.

The statement by SriLankan follows some media (not the Daily FT/Weekend FT) reporting FY22 net loss of $ 525 million or Rs. 164 billion up from Rs. 50 billion in FY21.

The FY22 loss includes a foreign exchange loss of Rs. 142.6 billion resulting from the revaluation of net foreign currency liabilities due to the sudden depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee exchange rate in March 2022. 

“The group, in fact, made an operating profit according to the audited financial statement and before the occurrence of exchange losses, amounting to Rs. 1.7 billion in the year. This is a significant achievement considering the issues faced by airlines worldwide during that period owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the national carrier said.

For the Weekend FT story, see https://www.ft.lk/top-story/SriLankan-Airlines-achieves-first-operating-profit-in-15-years-devaluation-deepens-net-loss/26-748278.

The national carrier’s statement said as the Chairman Ashok Pathirage stated during the recent COPE meeting, the airline has received no funding in the last two years, and continues to operate using its own cash flows.

“The airline maintains operating margins in line with the best industry standards. We are optimistic that these will be stronger in the year ahead as the country moves forward from the challenges of 2022. As discussed at the COPE meeting, the biggest challenge yet is the country’s situation and extremely high financing costs,” the statement added.