A Bamboo Airways plane. Photo courtesy of the carrier.
Vietnam Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, reported a loss of VND12.97 trillion ($551.5 million) last year, while private low-cost airline Vietjet Air lost roughly VND2.65 trillion ($112.6 million).
Compared to 2021, Bamboo’s income in 2022 climbed by over 3.3 times, totaling VND11.73 trillion ($498.96 million). Bamboo Airways has not been able to record a gross profit despite this increase. The carrier said that because of problems in the Northeast Asian market and the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, which drove up the price of jet fuel, it sustained a huge loss.
Bamboo Airways presently has a fleet of 30 aircraft, but Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet each have more than 80 and 110 aircraft, respectively.
The liabilities of Bamboo Airways were around VND18.8 trillion ($799.6 million) at the end of December 2022, up from VND8.7 trillion ($370 million) at the beginning of 2022. Which included more than VND17.3 trillion ($735.77 million) in short-term debt. Equity remained negative at VND835 billion ($35.5 million), down from VND16.78 trillion ($713.78 million) at the start of the year.
Bamboo Airways has set a double-digit growth target for this year, with a range of 15-20% growth depending on the state of the industry. The airline is examining options to expand its fleet and network and boost operational effectiveness in an effort to recover momentum.
With an emphasis on key markets including Europe, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia, the airline will continue to increase its operating frequency and add new routes. It will simultaneously apply for official approval to increase its fleet to more than 30 aircraft.
On Wednesday, Bamboo Airways said that it has accepted the resignations of every board member, including Nguyen Manh Quan, Doan Huu Doan, Le Ba Nguyen, and Le Thai Sam.
Bamboo Airways will seek shareholders to ratify the resignations of the five members at the AGM on June 21 in order to maintain the continuity of the board of directors. It will then choose a new board, this time with seven members, for the years 2023–2028.
The current charter capital of Bamboo Airways is VND18.5 trillion ($789 million), or 1.85 billion shares.
A 56.42% majority of Bamboo Airways’ exceptional shareholders voted against the airline’s proposal to raise its charter capital on April 10. In order to generate almost VND10 trillion ($425.55 million) and boost its charter capital to nearly VND28.07 trillion ($1.2 billion), the company has proposed plans to offer 996.2 million shares in 2023.
Source: The Investor
