SINGAPORE, 30 June 2020: Vietjet is now ready to resume international flights from Vietnam starting July albeit with precautions to ensure safety for passengers and staff, the airline’s board told shareholders at the weekend.
During the 2020 Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting, 27 June, Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (HOSE: VJC) reviewed its 2019 business results and audited financial statements while discussing the company’s revised plans for the remainder of 2020.
In a summary of the 2020 outlook and development plan, the airline acknowledged it had been impacted severely since the beginning of 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic, but all domestic operations in Vietnam had been successfully reinstated.
Following the resumption of domestic flights, Vietjet introduced at the AGM its “Returning to the Sky” campaign that will ultimately see it inaugurate eight new routes and increase its domestic flight network to 53 routes by the end of 2020.
In its report to the shareholders, the airline noted that Thai Vietjet was also the first airline to reopen operations to Phuket Airport, in southern Thailand and has resumed services to five other cities from its base in Bangkok.
The Vietnamese government is currently implementing initiatives to support airlines, such as tax and fee reductions and loans with low rates. With the government’s support, it is expected that Vietjet will be able to operate 90 aircraft with over 118,000 flights to transport more than 20 million passengers by the end of 2020.
Vietjet said its core business of air transport should reach break-even by the end of 2020. It will increase cargo services, review aircraft purchases, diversify credit loans solutions and expand self-serving ground operations.
Despite the current challenging business climate, Vietjet forecasts it will pay a dividend for the fiscal year 2019 representing a 50% improvement per share.
According to the executive board’s report presented at the AGM, 2019 the airline continued to achieve growth and indicated sustainable development with positive business results. 2019 also marked an important milestone in the carrier’s journey as it celebrated reaching 100 million passengers.
2019 financial highlights
In 2019, the audited air transport revenue reached VND41,252 billion (approximately USD1.8 billion) and VND 3,869 billion (approximately USD166 million) in profit before tax, an increase of 22% and 27% respectively compared to 2018. Vietjet’s consolidated pre-tax revenue and profit in 2019 were VND50,603 billion (approximately USD2.2 billion) and VND 4,569 billion, respectively (approximately USD196 million).
Vietjet’s ancillary revenue reached VND11,340 billion (approximately USD487 million) in 2019, an increase of 36% compared to 2018. The portion of ancillary revenue from the airline’s air transportation revenue also increased from 25.3% in 2018 to 30.4% in 2019, making Vietjet one of the top-ranking airlines globally in terms of ancillary revenue over total revenue ratio.
2019 Milestones In 2019, Vietjet added 34 new routes, increasing its flight network to a total of 139 routes composed of 44 domestic and 95 international routes. The airline carried more than 25 million passengers.
