• COPE reveals $ 104 mn made in operating profit

SriLankan Airlines has recorded a net profit of $ 3 million for the financial year 2022-23, the first time the airline has made a net profit after Emirates left the management in 2008, the airline revealed to the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).

Meeting with the COPE last Thursday (27), the airline revealed that it had made $ 104 million as operating profit before interest, resulting in a net profit of $ 3 million after interest expenses of $ 101 million.

However, the airline recorded a loss in rupee terms of Rs 69 billion mainly due to exchange losses (Rs 63 billion exchange loss) of the airline, but this was a reduction from the Rs 163 billion rupee loss from the 2021-22 year.

The airline is expecting an operating profit before finance of $ 163 million and a net profit of $ 52 million after a high finance charge of $ 110 million. 

Speaking at the committee, SriLankan Airlines CEO, Richard Nuttall said that SriLankan Airlines estimates revenue of over $ 1 billion for the financial year 2023-24 while estimating $ 60 million from ground handling and $ 40 million from catering.

He said that the airline has saved $ 80 million during 2022 as it was the only State Owned Enterprise (SOE) where the employees took a pay cut due to the pandemic.

Nuttall said the airline maintains an operation margin of 10% which is slightly less than Qantas group, Singapore Airlines and doubles the margin of IAG British Airways.

Further, he said that the Cost for Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) (excluding fuel), a measure of passenger carrying capacity, is nearly 20% lower (excluding fuel) than most of the major competitors of the airline such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and other airlines in the region.

“Pre-Covid, it was 5.11% ASK in terms of our revenues and that has just grown over 25% to 6.55 cents last year,” he added.

Also, he said the staff cost of the airline as a share of operating and finance charges pre-Covid was at 15%, it has come down to 7-8% as of last year due to salary cuts, rupee devaluation and laying off of over 1000 employees, he added that the average number of employees per aircraft as of March 2023 was 150.