(Posted 25th July 2023)
Air Seychelles, the national carrier of the Republic of Seychelles announces a
profit of USD 8.4 million for the year 2022.
This was the first year of profit for Air Seychelles since 2016 when it reported a
small gain of USD 425k.
After reporting a loss of USD 22.7m in 2021 and starting the year 2022 with a
negative net asset position of USD 100.6m, the year 2022 was one of exceptional
recovery for Air Seychelles. Prior to the start of 2022, the airline 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.
Through the Company Reorganization (Administration) process, Air Seychelles
paid the agreed settlement of USD 28.16m owed to the Bondholders in May
2022. The payment was made from a USD 16.5m bank loan from Nouvobanq and
USD 11.7m of Air Seychelles’ cash reserves. This marked an incredible
achievement, closing the chapter on the USD 71.5m debt burden that the
company had been carrying since 2015/16.
Air Seychelles successfully exited the Company Reorganisation in November 2022
and ended the year with a positive net asset position of USD 19 million. This is an
improvement of USD 104 million from its net asset position of negative USD 85
million at the start of the Company Reorganisation process.
This remarkable restructuring success was further backed by an impressive
upswing in the company’s operational and ongoing financial performance.
Overall revenue had recovered to 93% of 2019 levels for the year and even
exceeded 2019 levels in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The company managed to almost fully utilise the international jet aircraft fleet,
with one aircraft dedicated to ACMI operations while the other operated
commercial scheduled flight operations. With 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 USD 119.6m
and, after excluding the debt write-off gains from the debt discounts during the
company reorganisation process, made a profit of USD 8.4m. This profit enabled
Air Seychelles to make repayments on its debt obligations.
The Board of Directors and the acting CEO would like to extend their gratitude to
all its employees, the Government of Seychelles, the Administrators, the
creditors, its legal counsels, and the general public for their contributions and
support provided to the company in achieving one of the greatest positive
turnarounds in the history of Air Seychelles.
