Vietnam’s aviation industry in 2022: Flying a lot is still a loss

In 2022, the Vietnamese aviation market has made an impressive comeback despite fluctuations in fuel prices and obstacles in reopening international routes.

According to statistics of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, in 2022, the volume of goods transported by air in 2022 is estimated at 1.25 million tons. This is equal to 95% of 2021 and the same as 2019).

Domestic freight volume is also 152,000 tons (equivalent to 2021 and equal to 60% compared to 2019) and international freight is estimated at 1.1 million tons (equivalent to 2021 and up 10% compared to 2019). with 2019).

As for passenger services, in 2022, the air transport market will reach about 55 million passengers. This result has increased 3.7 times compared to 2021 and equal to 69.6% compared to 2019.

In which, domestic passenger transport reached about 43.2 million passengers (up 3.5 times compared to 2021 and 15.6% compared to 2019) and international passenger transport reached 11 million passengers (up 22 times compared to 2021 and equal to 27% compared to 2019).

The recovery of the aviation market is also evidenced by the business results of businesses in the industry in 2022.

According to the new fourth quarter financial report Airports Corporation of Vietnam (UPCoM: ACV) announced, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the “airport giant” recorded a net revenue increase of more than 4.3 times over the same period, reaching VND 4,177 billion; ACV’s gross profit jumped to 1,932 billion dong, up 13 times, equivalent to more than 2,094 billion dong over the same period (gross loss 162 billion dong). ACV’s gross profit margin also returned to a stable level of 46%.

After deducting other expenses, ACV reported after-tax profit in the fourth quarter of 2022 to nearly VND 1,287 billion, nearly 4.4 times higher than the same period, marking the fifth consecutive increase after the transportation operation. Passengers were strongly affected by social distancing measures when the pandemic broke out in Vietnam in the second quarter and especially the third quarter of 2021.

In the whole year of 2022, ACV recorded a revenue of more than 13,945 billion VND, 2.9 times higher than the same period; Profit after tax increased nearly 9 times compared to 2021, reaching VND 7,127 billion.

With this result, the “big man” directly exploiting and operating 21 airports in the country has exceeded 34% of the annual revenue target. With a pre-tax profit of VND 8,833 billion, ACV also exceeded 244% of the year’s profit target.

However, even with the aviation picture recovering, not everyone can “laugh” like ACV, especially when looking at the business situation of airlines.

With revenue almost back to pre-pandemic levels, the airline Vietjet (HoSE: VJC) recorded net revenue increased 4.2 times over the same period last year, reaching 11,807 billion dong in the fourth quarter.

In which, the largest source of revenue comes from passenger transportation (VND 10,475 billion); auxiliary activities (2,593 billion VND); arrange, transfer ownership and trade of aircraft and engines (655 billion VND), lease aircraft (534 billion VND).

However, due to the sharp increase in expenses, in the fourth quarter, Vietjet net loss from business activities was 3,746 billion dong, while the fourth quarter of the previous year only lost 82 billion dong.

Deducting all kinds of expenses, this airline only has an after-tax loss of VND 2,358 billion, much lower than the net loss from the above business activities. However, the result of the fourth quarter of 2022 is still the largest after-tax loss in Vietjet’s history.

In the whole year of 2022, Vietjet recorded net revenue of 39,342 billion dong, tripled in 2021. Gross loss increased by 6% to 2,167 billion dong. After-tax loss of 2,171 billion dong, in contrast to the profit result of nearly 122 billion dong in 2021.

In 2022, Vietjet plans to achieve consolidated revenue of VND 32,720 billion and profit after tax of VND 1,000 billion. Thus, despite exceeding 20% ​​of the revenue target, this airline is far behind when compared to the profit target. In fact, this is also the first year since its operation, this business reported a loss.

Before, Vietnam Airlines (HoSE: HVN) recorded net revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 at about VND 19,500 billion, an increase of more than VND 10,000 billion compared to the same period in 2021. However, Vietnam Airlines fell into a business situation below cost when a gross loss of nearly VND 830 billion in the first quarter of 2022. period, higher than the loss of 635 billion dong in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Deducting expenses, Vietnam Airlines reported a loss of nearly 2,700 billion dong in the fourth quarter of 2022, while the same period lost more than 1,000 billion dong. Thus, this is the 12th consecutive quarter of Vietnam Airlines business at a loss.

For the whole year of 2022, the total revenue of Vietnam Airlines reached VND 70,500 billion, an increase of 2.5 times compared to the whole year of 2021 and equivalent to over 70% of the pre-epidemic level in 2019 but still could not help the airline offset the costs. increased sharply in the context of jet fuel prices, the exchange rate increased sharply last year.

For the whole year of 2022, Vietnam Airlines has a net loss of VND 10,091 billion. However, this loss was reduced by 3,000 billion VND compared to 2021 and lower than the plan set out in the middle of the year.

By the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, Vietnam Airlines recorded a cumulative loss of nearly VND 34,200 billion. Negative equity is about 10,200 billion, while the beginning of the year is still positive over 500 billion. This also pushed the airline’s stock to the brink of delisting because HoSE had previously emphasized the possibility of the national airline being delisted if the 2022 audited consolidated financial statements continued to lose net or capital. owner is negative.

By the end of December 31, 2022, the national airline owned 12,316 billion dong of short-term assets, of which 3,390 billion dong were cash and short-term investments. Short-term debt of Vietnam Airlines up to 53,139 billion dong, which is more than 4.3 times more short-term assets.

Bamboo Airways Although the airline has not announced business results yet, the airline has estimated a loss of more than 3,500 billion dong in the first 9 months of 2022, much higher than the loss of over 2,200 billion dong in 2021. Meanwhile, the average in the first nine months of 2022. The year before the epidemic, Bamboo Airways also only made a profit of about VND 240-300 billion/year. Therefore, it is almost certain that the airline will continue to have another year of strong losses.

Vietravel Airlines There are no official statistics on business results, but one of the recent moves this airline has just proposed to the Government to increase the total investment capital of aviation projects to VND 7,642 billion by 2025, which is more than 6,300 billion compared to today.

According to the share of Vietravel Airlines Chairman Nguyen Quoc Ky, the increase in capital is to meet the needs of investment and development of the airline, which mainly helps to increase the size of the fleet.

He added that in the past period, due to the epidemic and the small size of the fleet, the airline was still unable to make a profit. At the same time, businesses also want to quickly increase their fleet to meet the demand for air transport and tourism after two years of the pandemic. After more than 2 years of taking off, Vietravel Airlines owns a fleet of 3 Airbus A321 aircraft, with a capital scale of 1,300 billion VND..