Air Seychelles recently announced a profit of US$8,4m (R157,2m) for 2022, the first time the carrier had shown a profit since 2016, when it reported a small gain of US$425 000 (R7,9m).
After reporting a loss of US$22,7m (R424,9m) in 2021, and starting the year 2022 with a negative nett asset position of US$100,6m (R1,8b), 2022 was one of recovery for the airline.
Before the start of 2022, it had suffered the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included the shutting down of its key routes and the shrinking of its revenue streams.
After borders reopened, scheduled operations were re-established to Johannesburg, Tel Aviv, Mauritius, and Mumbai, with a seasonal Almaty operation launched in December.
By the end of 2022, the company had achieved an overall profit of US$119,6m (R2,2bn) and, after excluding the debt write-off gains from the debt discounts during the company’s reorganisation process, made profit of US$8,4m (R157,2m).
This profit enabled Air Seychelles to make repayments on its debt obligations.
Overall, the airline’s revenue had recovered to 93% of 2019 levels for this year, and even exceeded 2019 levels in the fourth quarter of 2022.
