The financial statements of Island Aviation Services Limited (IAS), which operates the national airline of the Maldives, show that the company incurred losses again last year. According to the financial statements released by the Auditor General’s Office, IAS earned a revenue of 2.27 billion rufiyaa. A large portion of this came from Maldivian’s domestic flights. The audit report notes that the 1.6 billion rufiyaa earned from domestic flights accounts for 75 percent of the total revenue.
The audited figures show that after deducting operating expenses from the revenue, IAS made an operating profit of 171 million rufiyaa last year. However, after deducting financing costs and taxes, the company incurred a loss of 2.82 million rufiyaa. This marks the fifth consecutive year that IAS has operated at a loss. In 2023, the company incurred a loss of 71.4 million rufiyaa. The company, which had been profitable since 2014, began incurring losses in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, looking at the financial statements for the past five years, IAS has significantly reduced its losses compared to previous years. To end the series of losses and return to profitability, IAS has begun many initiatives to expand its business and improve the quality of customer service.
As part of these efforts, the company has brought in a wide-body aircraft this year, aiming to increase international flights. Additionally, as the Dash-8 aircraft currently used for domestic flights are aging and maintenance costs are increasing, work has begun to replace these with newer ATR model aircraft.
This report suggests that despite ongoing challenges, Island Aviation is taking steps to improve its financial situation and expand its services, which could lead to better performance in the future.
