A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, June 16, 2017
Brighter skies over SriLankan Airlines’ financial position
Ajith Dias, Chairman - SriLankan Airlines and Suren Ratwatta, CEO SriLankan Airlines-June 15, 2017, 9:34 pm
Contrary to inaccurate reports in the press, the management of SriLankan Airlines would like to point out that since the Unity government was formed, the airline’s losses have been dramatically reduced, A press release issued by SriLankan Airlines stated yesterday.
Contrary to inaccurate reports in the press, the management of SriLankan Airlines would like to point out that since the Unity government was formed, the airline’s losses have been dramatically reduced, A press release issued by SriLankan Airlines stated yesterday.
LKR 91.8 billion in losses between 2011 & 2015 reduced to a fraction
of this colossal number by 2017, the press release stated.
It further noted that the fuel price reduction of 2015 saw a drop in
ticket prices which did not recover when fuel increased again. The
effect of this, coupled with the acceptance of several new (and
expensive) aircraft, a depreciation of the LKR and other currencies
against the USD (the majority of airline costs are in USD) saw a
weakening of the balance sheet. The runway re-surfacing project at
Colombo Airport, which was absolutely necessary, also forced the
national carrier to cancel over 600 flights, equivalent to two entire
weeks of scheduled services, in the first three months of 2017. These
factors combined to worsen the performance of what could have been a
successful financial year in 2016/17.
The
airline continues to pay a heavy price for the extremely high lease
rental agreements entered into by the previous government. The cost of
terminating the leases on four A350-900 aircraft that were grossly
overpriced and completely unsuitable for the national carrier, imposed a
further burden on the airline. (One-off items in table above)
The airline is now undergoing a modest recovery in revenues and is about
to launch significant regional expansion. Three new destinations in
India, direct flights to Hong Kong & Guangzhou and a long awaited
non-stop service to Australia are all planned in the coming months.
Further restructuring is required in order to reduce the cost base and
make the company competitive in this extremely challenging market.
The Directors and management team are confident that with the support of
the shareholder, the recovery of the national airline will continue and
the positive trend will be further improved upon.