The head of Vietnam Airlines told a conference the airline is expecting a pre-tax profit of VND 7,300 billion or about US$286.4 million. Whereas at face value this looks to be good news for the airline, the reality is that its situation is much more complex.
VN Express, for example, has noted that the announcement was not accompanied with an explanation for the record profit. It goes on to point out that the company had a VND 4,500 or US$176.6 million windfall earlier in the year when the lessor of several jets to its subsidiary Pacific Airlines cancelled the company’s outstanding debts in exchange for the return of the planes. This left the budget carrier with no aircraft.
Moreover, the publication points out that Vietnam Airlines still has an accumulated debt of VND 35,000 or about US$1.4 billion.
Dong Nghiep Hoi Nhap has also noted that the airline is expecting a drop in revenue in 2025 of 17 percent, but also an increase in passenger numbers and cargo.
Furthermore, back in June the airline went hat in hand to the National Assembly to request an extension of an interest free loan it had acquired from the government that was set to fall due, without which it was speculated the airline would be insolvent. This was, fortunately for the airline, approved.
That is to say that, that together these factors would support the thesis that the record profit is not necessarily a sign of a better business but is, instead, an anomaly.