JOHANNESBURG - National carrier SAA made a further financial loss of R3.7billion over the nine months to the end of 2017, as revenue dipped about R1billion below its forecasts for that period.
The figures were tabled in a briefing by SAA chief executive Vuyani Jarana, chairperson JB Magwaza and executives to Parliament’s standing committee on finance. They predicted that the airline would stage a return to profitability in four years’ time as its turnaround strategy starts to reap fruit.
But for the current financial year the company is expected to show a loss of just less than R5 billion. It is expected to table these results this month after holding its annual meeting on Thursday.
SAA saw a decline in passenger numbers in the period under review and dropped fares in response to increased competition. At the same time, running costs rose, largely because of steeper fuel costs. SAA has been a burden to the national purse for years.