South African Airways Reports R354 Million Net Loss For Fiscal Year 2023/24: What New Updates You Need To Know

Friday, July 18, 2025

South African Airways (SAA) has reported a nonaccomplishment of R354 cardinal ($20 million) for nan 2023-24 financial year. This follows a nett profit of R252-million for nan airline’s erstwhile financial twelvemonth (2022-23), its first successful much than a decade.

Although SAA posted a respectable 23% summation successful turnover during this time, nan airline’s financials person been deed difficult by escalating operational costs, economical constraints from extracurricular forces and group backmost successful its fleet maturation strategy goals.

The airline’s apical management, led by its CEO, John Lamola, has been rather honorable astir nan origin of nan loss, blaming a cocktail of rate volatility, sky-rocketing substance prices, and rising leasing charges. In addition, nan transportation of caller jets was late, which prevented nan hose from earning more, and it was losing retired competition-wise successful nan world airlines market.

The volatility of nan rand is 1 of nan awesome reasons nan hose is expected to tally astatine a nonaccomplishment successful 2023-24. SAA revealed that it had besides bitten nan slug successful position of forex rates, suffering a R415 cardinal forex nonaccomplishment owed to a rand depreciation. This volatility accrued nan airline’s costs of importing equipment and services and impacted its bottom-line.

Apart from continued turbulence successful rate markets nan airline’s pitchy substance costs spiked during nan twelvemonth by increasing R1. 3 cardinal to R1. 9 billion. This hike besides mirrors nan broader upward trajectory of worldwide substance prices that person been making things difficult for airlines internationally. Fuel is among nan biggest costs items for airlines, and specified crisp increases put a compression connected profitability.

The leasing expenses were besides a facet successful nan financial struggles of nan carrier, who reported a 30% summation successful their leasing costs for nan period. SAA is still rebuilding its fleet aft exiting business rescue, making leasing craft an important of its strategy to capable its network. But nan accrued leasing costs added to nan airline’s woes.

The Implications of Slowing Fleet Growth and nan Business Rescue Process

Further, nan company’s nonaccomplishment was besides attributed to nan effect of craft delay, which affected its fleet description and its capacity to cater to increasing request successful nan world aviation industry.

Adopting caller aeroplanes arsenic portion of nan betterment scheme is important successful SAA’s turnaround strategy, and immoderate hold successful nan transportation of caller aeroplanes tin person an effect connected nan airline’s financials performance. Fewer planes meant nan nationalist bearer couldn’t ramp up its operations astatine nan aforesaid gait arsenic accrued revenue, and added small room for much routes aliases services.

The airline’s finances were besides affected by nan lingering effects of its business rescue process, which it did successful 2019 aft SAA knowledgeable a crippling liquidity crisis.

How nan hose was capable to travel retired of business rescue successful 2021 pinch a load of semipermanent effect connected its financial statements. During nan 2023-24 financial year, auditors adjusted nan attack to business rescue creditor obligations and nan accounts required to beryllium re-stated.

The reworking transformed what was a nett profit of R71m disclosed successful nan first study into a nonaccomplishment of R354m. These changes were made to bespeak nan existent authorities of nan company’s finances post-business rescue.

The botched partial privatization and its fallout

An important setback to nan airline’s betterment effort came successful March 2024 erstwhile its projected privatisation statement pinch nan Takatso Consortium collapsed.

The privatization was viewed arsenic a captious measurement for SAA, which was betting that an injection from its strategical partner would stabilize nan airline’s finances. The illness of this privatization woody has meant SAA has had to rethink its business exemplary and move much towards a exemplary of self-sustainability.

The CEO, John Lamola admitted that nan clang of nan privatization woody meant a precocious grade of uncertainty for nan airline.

But he struck an optimistic statement astir nan future, saying nan carrier’s efforts to cleanable up its governance, turn its fleet and amended customer work would lead to a semipermanent recovery. Notwithstanding nan reverse, nan activity of SAA is optimistic that these soul measures will alteration nan hose to beryllium unchangeable and profitable successful a comparatively short abstraction of time.

Strengthening Governance and Financial Transparency

In a bid to reconstruct assurance successful its finances, SAA has precocious initiated an ‘audit wellness plan’ to reside its financial reporting and governance practice.

This scheme consists of steps to harmonize financial processes, amended nan audit usability of nan airline, and coordinate pinch nan independent auditors to make judge nan institution is capable to meet each required filing deadlines. The hose has emphasised that it plans to way and has had capable of nan valid and meticulous financial statements.

Lamola said if anything, nan hose had managed to reason six successive audits complete nan past 3 years, which showed SAA’s willingness to instrumentality strict audits. Such activity is designed to amended nan financial spot of nan hose and to bespeak it is connected people to execute early targets.

An Emphasis connected Resilience and Recovery

In nan semipermanent South African Airways continues to attraction connected their betterment and sustainability scheme for nan future. Although nan hose still holds important operational challenges, particularly costs power lag and outer economical dynamics, pinch SAA’s activity wished to make a difference.

The hose has since shifted its attraction towards fleet recovery, web maturation and nan support of a amended customer acquisition overall. These are considered important to winning backmost marketplace stock and putting nan hose connected a way to semipermanent profitability.

Lamola said nan airline’s board’s privilege successful its roadworthy towards betterment would beryllium a committedness to amended governance and financial accountability. Furthermore, SAA will refine its operational tactics, specified arsenic spending little and amended managing its fleet, successful bid to support its competitiveness successful a institution situation which will only get tougher.

Conclusion: Path to Recovery for South African Airways

It is surely turbulent times for South African Airways successful nan aftermath of business rescue.

For nan twelvemonth 2023-24, nan nonaccomplishment has drawn attraction to nan continued financial woes, amid increasing expenses and nan scrapping of its scheme for privatization. But pinch a renewed attraction connected governance, fleet modernisation and amended customer service, SAA is looking to thrust nan large wind pinch a position to returning to profitability.

How good nan hose tin steer done these challenges and regain investor assurance and maximise its operational efficiencies will find its prospects successful exiting this turbulent era successful a stronger and much sustainable footing.

The ‘next fewer years will beryllium captious to trajectory’ of South African Airways arsenic it intends for a financially unchangeable early and to rejuvenate its marque connected nan world shape of aviation.