Air Macau suffered over MOP1b net loss in 2020

Air Macau, the city’s flagship airline, has endured an annual net loss of approximately MOP1.04 billion in 2020, owing to the double blows of the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing travel restrictions.
The group disclosed its financial performance in the 2020 report of its board of directors, published in the Official Gazette.
The report reveals that Air Macau generated receipts of MOP847 million from its operations for the full year of 2020, down 81% year-on-year.
However, the grouprecorded a hefty financial loss of MOP1.04 billion in the same period, a stark contrast to its MOP 150 million profit in 2019.
“In 2020, under the combined effect of the economic downturn caused by the pandemic and travel restrictions, the group’s profitability has declined significantly,” the group stated in the report.
Last year, Air Macau off-leased two A319 aircraft from its fleet. By the end of 2020, the group had 21 aircraft in operation, with its fleet age averaging 6.5 years.
The airline reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring the company stays afloat this year.
“To ensure stable operation, the company has made great efforts and formulated a plan to increase capital and expand its share [in the firm], to better tackle the foreseeable financial situation and worsened cash flow caused by the economic downturn,” the group said.
On December 7, 2020, the group convened a special meeting with shareholders, in which they approved the plan to ramp up capital.
Air Macau received MOP 1.8 billion in capital in January this year, which the firm stated “has laid a solid bedrock” for the firm’s future development and “has substantially rectified the group’s financial position and ensured the company can ride out the severe storm the aviation industry is facing now.”
Air Macau was founded as a private entity in 1994 and later inked a franchise agreement with the government in March 1995. Its operation officially commenced November 9, 1995.
The majority (66.9%) of shares in Air Macau were bought by China’s flag carrier Air China Ltd, which also holds shares in other subsidiary airlines such as Beijing Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Dalian Airlines and others, according to the annual report for 2020 released in April this year by Air China.