SriLankan Airlines Group posts Rs 1.7 Bn operating profit

SriLankan Airlines Group has made an operating profit amounting to Rs 1.7 billion in the year according to the audited financial statement and before the occurrence of exchange losses.

“This is a significant achievement considering the issues faced by airlines worldwide during that period owing to the pandemic,” a release from the airline said.

During the recently completed fiscal year, the airline generated a passenger and cargo revenue of USD994 million and an operating profit of USD53 million. The operating profit at group level was USD104 million. The group, however, incurred financing costs of USD101 million, resulting in a profit of USD3 million. These figures may vary slightly during the finalization of year-end accounts, but essentially the airline has broken even for the first time in over a decade.

SriLankan Airlines, moreover, presented its unaudited dollar financial statements for the latest financial year that ended in March 2023 at the recent COPE meeting in Parliament.

As the Chairman of SriLankan Airlines 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.

The release also states that they would like to clarify that the figure quoted in certain misleading news headlines refers to the financial position of the company as at March 31, 2022.

“The highlighted loss figure in these reports 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.”